


Handle with Care

by Ellen Smithee (ellensmithee)



Category: Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M, TVD Big Bang 2012
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-28
Updated: 2012-10-28
Packaged: 2017-11-17 06:02:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 23,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/548389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellensmithee/pseuds/Ellen%20Smithee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Elijah requests Katherine's detective skills to help him find someone, Katherine's curiosity gets the best of her and she agrees. The result? Shared hotel beds, stolen cars, dead bodies, pissed-off werewolves, and a dog named Charlemagne.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Handle with Care

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to my betas, Saltzatore and SwirlsofBlueJay, and to Saltzatore for the lovely art! This fic takes place in the same universe as [a light to burn all the empires](http://archiveofourown.org/works/421846), but works as a standalone.

**I.**

_Chicago, Illinois, 2025_

Katherine frowned as she ran her fingers over the bottles lining the shelves as she tried to decide what she wanted. She’d just come home from a long day of traveling and a craving for a vodka tonic to discover an empty liquor cabinet, no doubt the work of Lucy, who’d been watering Katherine’s plants while she was gone, and so she’d gone on a brief run to the liquor store around the corner from her apartment.

After a few moments, her hand finally settled on a bottle of Grey Goose when she felt a prickling at the back of her neck. A shadow seemed to pass over her and she froze. After a brief hesitation, she turned around slowly, relaxing slightly when she saw that no one was there.

She headed towards the checkout, grabbing a bottle of tonic water from a display as she passed by, and put both bottles on the counter.

“Find everything you need?” the guy behind the counter asked.

Katherine’s eyes dropped to his throat, her teeth aching to extend and sink into his neck, and then she raised her gaze to his eyes, rolling them when she caught him ogling her cleavage.

“I’m fine, thanks,” she said, glancing at the clock behind the counter. It was only 11:35 and the night was young. Perhaps she could convince him to—

At that moment, the bell over the door rang and she started, turning to look. They were still alone in the store, but she could see a shadow moving away, too fast to identify. Her stomach twisted instinctively, but she tamped down the response. It was years since she’d been on the run from Klaus, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t vigilant. She’d made enough enemies in her life to know that the next stake could be waiting just around the corner.

She paid and left the store without partaking in a “snack.” She still had blood in the freezer at home, she was sure of it. She left the shop and headed down the street to the brownstone where she lived.

After a few paces, she became aware that she was being followed. She continued on until she reached an alleyway about a half a block from her apartment and then dashed into it, slipping into the shadows behind the trash container and waiting. She didn’t have to wait long. After a few moments, a dark figure appeared at the head of the alleyway, pausing as he seemed to peer into the dusk. Katherine shrank back against the wall, holding her breath as the man advanced into the alley. Perhaps it was a mugger, perhaps a rapist, but _she_ was a predator, too. She jumped out and was on him in a flash, sinking her teeth into his throat, moaning as the taste of his blood hit her tongue. Her eyes rolled back in pleasure, as she drank and she pressed closer, anxious for more. It was obviously the blood of a vampire, but different, like nothing she’d ever tasted before. He was _delicious_.

Suddenly the other vampire braced his hands on her upper arms and pushed, sending her flying through the air. She slammed against the wall and slid down, panting as she tried to get air into her emptied lungs. The figure reached into his coat and pulled something out, the light of the waxing moon shining on a white patch of material. The figure shook it out and then pressed it to the wound on his neck. As she watched, he started to move towards her.

“ _Katerina_ …” the figure growled. The voice went right through her, to her deepest instincts and fears, and she panicked. She didn’t want to wait to see what he wanted. Instead, she jumped to her feet and fled.

*****

Lucy was ignoring her calls and texts, but she couldn’t pretend not to hear Katherine pounding on her door. She opened the door, fixing Katherine with a glare instead of a greeting.

" _Finally_ ," Katherine said, her voice filled with exasperation and not a little panic as she pushed past Lucy into her apartment. "I've been texting you for _hours_."

"It’s only been 20 minutes," Lucy said.

Katherine's eyes swept the room and settled on the TV. " _Real Wives of Chicago_? Really?"

Lucy sighed and sat down on the couch. "It's all that's on. Is that why you’re here at 10 to midnight? To criticize my TV viewing choices?"

Katherine propped herself up on the back of the couch, peering at the TV.

“Among other things,” she said, tilting her head to the side and wrinkling her nose. “I think I munched on that woman’s husband once. Sociopathic creep.”

“Katherine…”

"Fine,” Katherine said with a huff. “Whatever. You have to help me. I'm being followed."

Lucy rolled her eyes and Katherine could tell what she was thinking. Katherine had frequent feelings someone was after her, no doubt from having been pursued by Klaus for so many years. But this time it was no delusion.

"Who is following you?" Lucy asked.

"I don't _know_ ," Katherine said with an exasperated sigh, "for sure. But he attacked me. Okay, I attacked him first, but he was totally going to attack me."

"Katherine..."

Katherine stomped her foot. "I'm _not_ imagining things, Lucy," she said irritably. "I have a bad feeling about this."

Lucy turned back to Katherine, giving her a long, considering look.

"You think someone's after you?" she asked. "Maybe someone you screwed over years ago? Wow, it could be pretty much anyone in that case, couldn't it?"

Katherine glared at her.

"Ha, ha, very funny," she said. "I'd think you'd be more anxious to help me. If I die, you'll be all alone."

Lucy reached up and pinched the bridge of her nose, breathing slowly. "Of course I want to help you," she said finally with an exaggerated sigh. "Besides, I doubt very much that even death will keep you from annoying me."

"True," Katherine said with a mischievous grin. She reached out and poked Lucy on the shoulder. "And I _will_ come back to haunt you if something happens to me this time."

Lucy sighed.

"All right," she said. "Look, you can sleep in the spare room. Maybe I can find some spell to figure out who this mysterious person is in the morning."

Katherine nodded. "Thanks, Lu," she said. Bending over the back of the couch, she pressed a kiss to Lucy's forehead. "You're a life-saver."

"Don't thank me yet," she called.

As Katherine headed off to the spare room, Lucy clicked off her television and sighed.

"I’m so going to regret this,” she muttered.

"What?" Katherine called.

"Nothing! G'night, Kat."

**II.**

When Katherine arrived home the next morning, the sun was bright in the sky, making her fears from the night before seem silly. She tossed her leather jacket on the back of the sofa as she headed towards the kitchenette for breakfast. Grabbing a bag of blood from the freezer, Katherine nuked it to body temperature and then set the automatic coffeemaker as she sipped from the bag.

"Good morning, Katerina."

She whirled around in shock, her eyes widening as she saw Elijah standing on the other side of the island. She gasped and the blood went down the wrong way and she started to choke. Elijah reached out and snatched a napkin out of the dispenser, holding it out to her once she'd gotten control of the coughing fit again. She nodded her thanks, wiping the blood off her lips and chin and then throwing away the napkin. Then she leaned on the counter, narrowing her eyes in suspicion as she met his cool stare.

"What are you doing here?" she rasped.

"I need your help," Elijah said.

"My help," Katherine repeated, giving him a nonplussed look.

"Yes," Elijah said, raising his chin as he regarded her coolly. "I require your... expertise." His lip curled in distaste, as if he were beholding something particularly nasty.

Katherine's jaw tightened as she wondered exactly what he was implying. Apparently he was always going to hold the events of more than 600 years ago against her.

"Go on."

Elijah sighed. "Someone took something from me," he said. "A man named Mitchell Edwards. And I would very much like to get it back. And Damon,” he grimaced as he pronounced the name, “told me that you... have certain talents when it comes to tracking people and things. I was hoping you could help me."

Katherine felt a flash of irritation at the mention of Damon—and by proxy the perfect Elena, for whom Elijah was no doubt still carrying a torch.

“How is Damon?” she asked with false sweetness. “And his ladylove?”

"They're both fine," Elijah said curtly. "Now, will you help me? It will be entirely non-dangerous for you, I give you my word."

Katherine's mouth twisted. "Ah, now see? I remember exactly how much your word is worth."

Elijah's eyes darkened and Katherine braced herself for an attack, but he seemed to get himself under control again after a few moments.

"I'm willing to pay you for your services, of course," he said, his lip curling in disdain. "Name your price."

Katherine opened her mouth to tell him just where he could stick his money, but then she closed it again. If he was that desperate to find this Edwards guy, there was no reason why she shouldn't profit from it. She’d probably find him with a few Internet searches, and Elijah would be none the wiser. And what was that saying about a fool and his money?

"A hundred thousand dollars," she said. "Half now, half when I find him."

Elijah nodded, to her surprise.

"Agreed." He took out his smartphone and looked at her expectantly. She recited her account numbers and then checked her own phone to make sure the money had arrived.

"Well, now that that's settled," he said as he put his phone back into the pocket inside his jacket. "When do we leave?"

Katherine snorted. "We? No way. I work alone."

"No," Elijah said firmly. "Definitely not. I'm going with you. It's not that I don't trust you, Katerina—"

"Really?" Katherine said incredulously. "Except that, you know, you totally don't."

Elijah's nostrils flared. "And whose fault is that?" he hissed. "Do you think I wanted to ask _you_ for help?"

Katherine's chest tightened so much that she could hardly breathe. She should've known this wasn't going to work. Elijah was never going to get over himself and her imagined slight.

"You know what?" she said, taking out her phone again. "We don't have to do this. I can just give you your money back, and you can walk out that door and find someone else stupid enough to go on this wild goose chase."

Elijah clenched his fists and then opened them, pressing his palms flat against the counter.

"No," he said. "It has to be you. I... I apologize, Katerina."

"Katherine," she said.

"Pardon?"

"Katherine," she repeated. "That's my name. Not Katerina. I haven't been Katerina for a long, long time."

Elijah gave her a long, considering look and then he nodded.

"Very well," he said. "Will you help me, Katherine?" The way he seemed to savor her name on his tongue made her insides feel funny in a way she didn't want to analyze.

"Sure," Katherine said. "Why not? I'll do it. Have you ever known me not to have a death wish?"

Elijah laughed. "No, I don't think I have," he said, his eyes softening. Katherine hadn't had that look directed at her in hundreds of years and she'd forgotten how it felt. "Thank you, Kater—Katherine."

"No problem," Katherine said, turning back to the coffee-maker. "Now, how do you take your coffee? Elijah?"

She whirled around, pot in hand, but he was gone.

**III.**

Katherine huffed and blew a strand of hair out of her eyes as she tried not to lose her temper. She could hear Elijah prowling around in her living room as she worked at the computer, trying to find leads on the whereabouts of Mitchell Edwards through her various contacts. All Elijah could say was that he was filthy rich and lived alone on an island somewhere. A proposition which was sounding increasingly enticing.

"Do you mind?" she asked finally. "I'm trying to work."

"You're not working, you're dawdling," Elijah said irritably. "How many rich men are there who live on islands? It can't be so difficult to find just one."

Katherine rolled her eyes. "There are a lot of islands," she said. "And you can’t even tell me if that’s his real name."

Elijah sighed in exasperation and then sat down on the chair across from her with such precisely calculated movements that just exuded irritation. Katherine gave him a surreptitious glance through her hair. It had been over 600 years since she'd spent very much time with Elijah, it was true, but he'd always seemed so controlled, so passionless to her. But now, through the veneer of calm, he seemed oddly on the edge, like one wrong word or move would send him careening over.

"Why are you looking for him?" she asked. "What did he take that was so valuable?"

Elijah's face hardened as he glared at her. "That is none of your concern, Katerina," he said. "I'll thank you to do what I pay you to do and keep your mouth shut."

Katherine glared back, her jaw clenching and unclenching as she tried to contain her anger.

"Fine," she said finally, turning back to her computer. "And apparently it's impossible for you to call me 'Katherine'."

"What?"

"Nothing," she said, making a shooing motion with her hand. "Don't you have some pacing to do? This might take a while. I don't want to leave till I know where we're going."

"I thought you’re supposed to be good at this," Elijah said, making no move to rise. "Damon said you used to regularly stalk Stefan Salvatore. Or have you finally given up on his eternal love?"

Katherine gave him a sharp look as she tamped down the sharp pang of hurt his words had given her. "I do occasionally check up on him," she said. "He’s currently in Portland. With Klaus. Which you no doubt know. And of course I keep track of him, I made him, after all. Don't you have any progeny?"

"Of course _not_ ," Elijah said primly. "I would not damn anyone to this sort of life."

Katherine raised a skeptical brow. "Really?" she asked. "No one, not in a thousand years. No human woman you wanted to keep forever? Or man?"

Elijah stared at her for a long moment, an odd look on his face, so long that she thought he'd forgotten the question. Finally, he said, "I had a friend once, a Jewish scholar, whom I turned in the thirteenth century, in Prague. He was one of the first whom Klaus killed when he was exacting his vengeance upon me."

"I'm sorry," Katherine said. Her eyes dropped to his hand, which was clenched into a fist, and tightened her own fingers around the mouse to prevent herself from reaching out to him.

Elijah narrowed his eyes, as if he suspected her of mocking him, and then he relaxed. "Thank you," he said simply.

"Don't thank me yet," she said, returning her focus to the screen. "I still haven't found a trace of him, just vague rumors."

Elijah nodded. "I do appreciate this," he said, his voice more amicable all of a sudden.

Katherine looked up to meet his eyes. "Well, the money is very nice."

Elijah barked a short laugh. “Of course,” he said. “The money.” He narrowed his eyes slightly as he gazed at her. "You haven't really done much with your life since it all ended, have you? Since Niklaus said you were free to go. All those years of running, and still you're just marching in place."

Elijah was smiling, but his tone was vindictive and satisfied, and Katherine just stared at him for a long moment, wondering why, after so many years, he still hated her so.

"Well, since you obviously know so much about me," she said, setting her jaw as she turned back to her computer screen, "I guess I don't have to answer that."

"No," Elijah said, his voice tight. "I already know what kind of woman you are."

Katherine leaned back in her chair. "Oh, really," she said, forcing a languid smile. "And what would that be?"

"A liar," Elijah said. "A cheat. An adventuress."

Katherine continued to smile, but her chest had taken on that peculiar ache she'd always felt when Damon and Stefan had refused to believe her or to believe _in_ her, no matter how often she'd tried. Lightning fast, she sprang over the table and grabbed him, pushing him across the room and into the far back wall, slamming him into it so hard, plaster broke off in bits, shattering on the floor. She knew he was much stronger and would almost certainly make her pay, but at the moment, she didn't care.

"You'll treat me with respect," she said, her voice low and venomous. "Or I'll give you your money back and you can walk out that door and find him your own fucking self."

His pulse was racing under her fingers, his eyes wide as they stared into hers. She held his gaze for a moment and was just loosening her grip on his throat when he grabbed her and whirled her around until her back was against the wall. He leaned forward until his mouth was hovering just over hers.

"Fine," he whispered. She shivered as his breath ghosted over her lips. "I apologize."

She froze, unable to take her eyes off him, convinced that he was about to kiss her. Just as he seemed to be closing the distance, her phone beeped, breaking the spell.

"That'll, uh..." She swallowed hard as her gaze dropped to his lips. "That'll probably be one of my contacts."

He released her and moved away as she headed over to the table to retrieve her phone. As she spoke with the man on the other end, she heard a soft rustling noise and turned to discover that Elijah had swept up the broken plaster.

Once she'd hung up, she turned back to him.

"A Mitchell Edwards lives on an island in Puget Sound," she said. "Near Seattle. I'm guessing that's him."

Elijah nodded. "All right," he said. "Thank you, Katherine, I appreciate what you've done. Just send the coordinates to my phone, and I'll be on my way. You held up your end of the bargain, so you can keep the money, of course."

Katherine felt a pang of disappointment at his words. He obviously hated her too much to show her simple respect.

"Sure." She whirled around so that he wouldn't see her dejectedness and texted the coordinates to him. By the time his phone beeped, she had herself under control again and she turned to face him. "Good luck."

"Thank you, Kater—Katherine," he said. He stared at her for a moment, pressing his lips together like he was trying to come to a decision, and then he blurted out, "Maybe it would be better if you come, too. Just in case something goes wrong. I mean, your tracking skills are almost legendary." She opened her mouth, but remained silent when he held up his hand. "I'll give you double—no, triple—of what we agreed. In advance."

Three hundred thousand dollars? Just to find this Edwards? Elijah really was desperate. She opened her mouth, intending to refuse, but her subconscious apparently had other plans.

"Agreed."

Katherine's heart lurched as Elijah suddenly smiled widely, bringing her back to a time when he was her friend and she'd counted on those smiles to navigate through Klaus's odd moods.

"Very well," he said. "I'll pick you up in the morning. Good night, Katherine."

She'd barely blinked and he was gone. Shaking her head, she headed over to the bar and mixed herself a vodka tonic, hesitating for a moment before she doubled the vodka. She definitely needed it tonight.

She’d just settled on the couch when her phone beeped. She pulled it out of her pocket and grinned when she saw that Lucy had just messaged her. Lucy had been surprised that someone had actually been following Katherine this time and she was skeptical about Elijah’s intent in involving her in his quest.

_You OK?_

_I’m fine_ , Katherine typed. _But I'm going to kill him._

_Elijah? What did he do?_

_What didn't he do. He's just as annoying as always. I might have to dagger him once he pays my fee. Or maybe you can entomb him._

_Fee? You managed to get money out of him?_

_A_ lot _of money. We're rich, baby. ;-)_

_LOL. Night, Kat._

_Night, sweetie._

*****

After she'd texted back and forth with Lucy for a bit and let off a little steam about Elijah, she poured herself another vodka tonic and headed upstairs to draw a bath. She had no idea when she'd be able to relax again, certainly not in Elijah's presence. They seemed to have cleared the air just a little, but she had no doubt that wasn't the end of their strife. Elijah seemed to hate her just a little much for it to be over just like that.

She undressed and lit some candles and then turned off the light and eased into the tub, leaning her head back and closing her eyes. Her chest ached as she thought of Elijah. What right did he have to hate her? He was the one who'd betrayed their friendship first by planning to kill her. Of course she'd done what she had to do to survive. The real world didn't send handsome princes to rescue damsels in distress. Katherine had always had to do it herself.

Her mind started to drift as she relaxed in the water, trying to put the events of the last few days behind her. Slowly she became aware of something tickling her foot. Something like a fingernail scraped against her sole and she jerked her foot away, her eyes flying open.

"Hello?" she called, peering into the gloom of the bathroom. She thought she could see a shadow in the corner, but when she blinked again, it was gone.

Blaming the sensation on a twitchy nerve, she leaned back again, closing her eyes. Just as she'd fully relaxed, she felt it once again, the light pressure of fingers on her insole and then sliding up her ankle. Her eyes opened again, a curse on her lips, but the words died when she saw the dark silhouette of a man in shadow, crouched at the end of the tub.

"Wha—" she started to say, but he pressed the index finger of his other hand to his lips and shushed her. Katherine wanted to protest, wanted to tell him to stop, but a strange languidness came over her, as well as a feeling of trust. She lay back again, slipping once again into a relaxed state, and watched him through hooded eyes.

His warm hands slid up her leg, curling around her calf. He leaned down and pressed his lips to her knee. She gasped and he turned to look at her. She could only see the reflection of the candlelight off the water in his eyes, but they were achingly familiar. She nudged him gently with her knee, indicating that he should continue, and then let her legs fall open. She thought she caught the faint glimmer of a smile and then his hand was continuing up her leg to her center as he pressed soft kisses to her skin.

She groaned as his hand slid between her thighs and squeezed, sending a delicious shiver through her whole body. Her fists gripped the edges of the bathtub as his hand stroked her, delving into her folds and finding her nub. Her whimpers and moans filled the bathroom as he pleasured her, bringing her to the edge again and again until she tumbled over.

"Elijah," she breathed.

"Katerina," a voice—his voice—murmured in her ear and Katherine awoke with a shriek.

Her whole body still thrumming from her dream orgasm, she sat up and looked around, but the bathroom—better lit than in her dream due to the street lights coming in through the window—was empty. Since the water had already gone cold, she climbed out of the tub, grabbed a towel as she listened for sounds in the rest of the house, and then ventured over to the window, but the street was deserted. If Elijah had been there, he was now gone.

**IV.**

Katherine scowled as she caught sight of Elijah standing next to her car with a bag, looking as impeccable as ever despite the early morning drizzle. Katherine, on the other hand, had slept fitfully after her odd dream in the tub, plagued all night by the fear that Elijah was going to invade her dreams again. And now here she was, heading off with him alone in the car. Well, she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of knowing he had her spooked.

He stood up straighter as she approached, his lip curling slightly in what appeared to be disapproval as he gave her a once-over, taking in her tight jeans and low-cut top. 

"Good morning, Elijah," she said, lowering her voice to a purr as she pushed her breasts forward with slightly exaggerated wantonness. Elijah flushed slightly and his jaw clenched briefly, but when he raised his eyes to hers, his face was cold and devoid of emotion.

"Good morning, Katherine," he said. He reached over and grabbed her bag, his fingers brushing hers briefly, sending a shock through her as she remembered how they'd felt touching her fevered skin in her dream. She felt a sudden, coy urge to cover herself from his eyes. Instead, she released the bag into his grip and pressed the button on her key to unlock the trunk and got into the car. She waited until he got in the car and then started the ignition.

"We'll have to stop by a hospital and pick up some blood bags for the trip," she said, as the car puttered onto the road. 

Elijah raised a brow. "Blood bags?" he asked. "I thought you prefer your meals to be... alive and kicking."

Katherine snorted. "Yeah, well, Lucy..." She shrugged.

"Lucy Bennett?"

Katherine nodded. "Remember what a do-gooder Bonnie Bennett was? Well, they got it from the same place." She paused briefly as she got onto the interstate and then continued. “Lucy and I had a… falling out a few years ago. So, when we made up, she set some boundaries. I don’t kill anyone unless it’s absolutely necessary, I don’t ask her to do morally objectionable spells, yadda, yadda, yadda. Stuff like that.”

"She's your friend," Elijah said. Katherine was slightly annoyed by the tone of his voice, like he expected her not to have any friends. "You care about her opinion."

Katherine frowned. "Well, now I wouldn't go that far," she said, shifting uncomfortably. "I just find it more..." She broke off. She really hadn't given it much thought about why she didn't drink directly from anyone she wasn't currently sleeping with anymore, other than, 'Lucy wouldn't approve.'

"Never mind," she said finally. "But if you prefer—"

"I find blood-drinking directly from humans to be..." He frowned slightly as he looked out the window of the car. "Distasteful."

Katherine sighed. "Somehow, I don't find that at all surprising," she said.

He turned back to her, his frown deepening. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Katherine squirmed a little under his glare. "Well, you always seem so... straight-laced."

"You mean prudish."

"That's not what I said," Katherine said, raising a finger off the steering wheel.

"You didn't have to."

"Not so much prudish, as having a stick up your ass."

Elijah narrowed his eyes. "I assure you, I am neither prudish, nor do I have a stick stuck up my ass."

"I'm sure it's a very nice stick," Katherine said placatingly. "Polished mahogany, maybe?"

Elijah stared at her for a long moment and then he snorted in amusement.

"I don't know where you would get the idea that I'm prudish," he said.

"Hmm," Katherine said. "Maybe because we spent all that time on your brother's estate 600 years ago and you never made a move."

"Of course not," Elijah said with a moue of disgust. "You were my brother's..." He paused and then added, "It would not have been proper."

Katherine felt a flash of anger, the intensity of it surprising her even though the events of which they were speaking lay so far in the past. 

"It would have been improper if I'd actually been in a relationship with your brother," she said, an accusatory note slipping into her voice. "Except that you knew all along that Klaus was only using me and didn't return my affections."

Elijah gave her a murderous glare. 

"Perhaps I would have pushed my suit," he hissed, "if I'd known you were also spreading your legs for Trevor and God knows who else."

Katherine's mouth fell open in shock and she stared at him in disbelief. She drew a deep breath to start _reaming_ him for what he'd said, but his eyes suddenly widened as he stared through the windshield.

"Katerina, look out!" he said. She looked forward just in time to see that the person in front of her had come to a sudden stop. She slammed on the brakes, screeching to a halt barely inches from the bumper of the other car.

"Thanks," she muttered, putting the car in gear again as the car ahead of them started to move. "As for what you said—"

"I apologize," he said contritely. "I don't know why I always seem to lose all reason around you."

Katherine didn't know what to make of his confession. She let out a huff of air and leaned back in her seat, wishing she'd thought to pack a bottle of whiskey. She had a feeling this was going to be a long trip.

"I didn't," she said finally, once she'd gotten herself under control again. "Sleep with Trevor, that is. I just... seduced him with my charms. False promises. Klaus was the only one who—" She took a deep breath and released it slowly. "Never mind. It doesn't matter and you probably don't care anyway."

Elijah just shrugged and turned to look out the window.

"Maybe we should limit our discussions to the matter at hand," he said.

Katherine felt a dull ache in her chest that wouldn't disappear, no matter how she tried to push it away.

"Sure," she said, focusing on the road again.

**V.**

After about 8 hours of driving with a minimum of conversation, they stopped at a motel on the outskirts of Minneapolis. Katherine went in search of a hospital to obtain blood bags. She felt vaguely guilty when she noticed how few preserves the hospital had, but, hey, she had a right to survive, too, right? Pushing away the feeling of discomfort, she loaded the cooler in the trunk and drove back to the motel.

Looking around to make sure no one was watching, she grabbed a few bags out of the cooler and slipped them into her purse before heading over to Elijah's room. She knocked and leaned against the door frame as she waited for him to answer, her eyes downcast. The first thing she saw when the door opened was two bare feet in a pair of jeans.

"Sorry," she said, pushing herself away from the door frame as she realized her mistake. She started to raise her eyes. "Wrong roo—Elijah?"

In addition to the jeans and bare feet, Elijah was wearing a t-shirt, his hair still damp from a shower. Katherine swallowed hard as she stared at him. He looked _good_. When had that happened?

Elijah seemed oblivious to her confusion. "What is it, Katerina?" he asked. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no," Katherine said, shaking her head to clear the cobwebs. "I mean," she pointed back towards her car with her thumb, "I brought you some blood."

"Oh!" Elijah seemed surprised. "I, uh, thank you, but I've already eaten."

Katherine frowned at him slightly. "Um, okay," she said. "More for me then, I guess."

"Yes," Elijah said, reaching up to grip the door. His t-shirt rode up, affording Katherine a glimpse of his flat, muscular stomach and the trail of hair leading from his navel down to his waistband. Katherine went warm all over and she felt uncharacteristically light-headed, and cleared her throat, forcing her eyes away. She looked up to find him watching her, a guarded expression on his face.

"Good night, Katherine," he said softly.

"Good night," she said.

Lost in thought, she went to her room, tearing open one of the bags as she started to undress. Within just those few moments at Elijah's door, it was as if her entire world had shifted. How had she not consciously noticed how hot Elijah was until now? Sure, he'd always been attractive, but she'd never really thought of him in that way, not even considered seducing him for help in escaping Klaus. Not that it would have done much good anyhow. He'd just been interested in fulfilling his brother's plan. Despite the pleasant times they'd spent together, she was certain that he hadn't felt more than a superficial interest in her company, but not enough to regret having to kill her.

When she was done, she brushed her teeth and climbed into bed. She was exhausted after the long drive, but sleep wasn't coming easily. All she could think of was Elijah, and it was driving her mad. He'd made it abundantly clear how he felt about her and she wasn't sure why she found it so upsetting. It had been years, however, since anyone had treated her as he had in the past few years, with so much hatred and animosity. She'd been among friends for so many years, she'd forgotten what it was like to be the one everyone hated and despised. It was like she was that person again, and she realized she didn't like it. She didn't want _him_ to see her like that, but she wasn't sure how to change it. In the small hours of the morning, she finally drifted into a fitful sleep

_She's running through the gardens, laughing, and she can hear him right behind her, his chuckle resonating deep inside her. She turns and sees that he's about ten paces behind her, thus overlooking the tree root in her path. She shrieks and falls, but before she hits the ground, he's there, his strong arms around her._

_"Katerina," he breathes. "Are you all right?"_

_She clings to him, panting as she stares up at him in shock. His dark eyes are kind and concerned and she feels like she could get lost in them. How had he managed to catch her? He'd been too far away before she fell, hadn't he?_

_"I am fine, Lord Elijah," she says and then wishes she hadn't as he rises and starts to pull her to her feet. She thinks quickly of a way to keep him close so that she may feel his arms around her longer._

_"Ow!" she cries as he tries to set her on her feet again._

_"Katerina!" She smirks but hides it quickly as he lifts her into his arms. Hiding her face in his shoulder, she inhales his scent and nestles closer. She has not felt this close, not in a long time, not even with Lord Niklaus, whom she loves above all else._

_He carries her to a bench and sets her down before sitting beside her._

_"May I?" he asks gesturing towards her leg. "I would like to see if it is injured."_

_She swallows hard. She is touched that he treats her so kindly, with respect and consideration. No lover has ever treated her in this manner, but Lord Elijah, who is so far above her, treats her as if she were as great a lady as any at court._

_"I thank you, sir," she says demurely. She hesitates and then places her foot on his knee. She watches him carefully from under her long lashes as he takes her foot in his hands. He just holds it for a second and then he removes her shoe, setting it beside him on the bench with careful precision, too careful as if to conceal nervousness. Then his long fingers are on her appendage again, gently probing her foot and ankle as he looks for injury._

_Finally, he stops and takes a deep breath, like he is fighting with himself, and then he seems to come to a decision. He raises his eyes to hers, looking at her evenly._

_"I find nothing," he says. "I do not think it is seriously injured. But I can make the pain go away. If you wish."_

_Her eyes widen as she gazes at him. "Of course I wish it," she says. "Lord Niklaus's ball is tonight. I would not miss it for the world, milord."_

_Lord Elijah's face seems to grow cold and for a moment she fears that she has insulted him somehow. She has barely blinked her eyes, however, and his customary smile is already back in place._

_"Of course not," he says. "You are, after all, to be the belle of the ball."_

_She smiles at him and wiggles her foot. He jumps in surprise and she goes still as she notices the hardness against her sole._

_"Pardon me, milord," she says, looking down in embarrassment as she tries to pull her foot away. He grabs it quickly and tugs on it, his hand sliding up her calf to her knee._

_"It is I who must be pardoned, Katerina," he murmurs. His face is close to hers now, his eyes boring intently into hers. "Do not be afraid, Katerina."_

_She feels an odd calm come over her._

_"Of course not, milord," she says._

_His face changes then_ —just like Lord Niklaus! _she thinks—she_ knows _—but she can't run, just sit there demurely as his teeth grow long and he bites into his wrist and then offers it to her._

_"Drink," he whispers, and she grimaces, she doesn't want to, but her body seems to have a will of its own. She delicately licks his wrist, gasping in surprise at the taste, sharp and tangy and sweet all at once, and then she pulls it closer, swallowing his blood in great gulps. She's just barely aware of him pulling her onto his lap, his mouth and lips against her temple. He moves and she moves, and a feeling like nothing she's ever felt before consumes her. He breathes her name, softly, like a benediction, and then she comes apart and everything fades away._

Katherine awoke with a strangled cry, her heart pounding. A few seconds later, she heard a knocking on the wall from Elijah's room.

"I'm fine," she said, not bothering to raise her voice. He'd be listening for the slightest sound out of place anyway. "It was just a dream."

After a few moments, he moved away from the wall and she forced herself to relax. She had a feeling she was done with sleep for the rest of the night.

**VI.**

At 5:30, Katherine stopped trying to sleep and walked to a truck stop a little ways down the road from the motel. She drank coffee and read the paper at leisure before heading back to the room with a few cups of coffee to go. Elijah was already standing next to the car with his luggage when she arrived, and she handed him the keys and the coffee cups by way of greeting and headed into her room to grab her things. She let him finish loading the car as she went to check them out and then she returned to find him standing on the driver’s side.

“No,” she said, holding out her hand for the keys. “I’m driving.”

“You drove all day yesterday,” he said. “It’s my turn.”

“No way,” Katherine said, grabbing the keys out of his hand and clutching them to her chest. “My car. My rules. Only I drive.”

“You drive like a maniac,” he said.

“Insulting my driving—which is _awesome_ , by the way—will not convince me to let you drive.”

“Fine.” Elijah let out a passive-aggressive sigh as he rolled his eyes and then headed to the other side of the car. “Just don’t come crying to me when you kill yourself.”

“Well, I’ll be dead in that case, won’t I?” 

She waited until he got in the car and put on his seat belt before she stepped on the gas, racing out of the parking lot with squealing tires as he held on tightly to the handle above the door, glaring at her in disapproval, much to her delight.

When she reached the interstate, she switched on the stereo, and the not-so-melodic strains of Limp Bizkit’s “Nookie” filled the car. She opened her mouth to sing along when the music abruptly stopped.

“Hey,” she growled, pouting as she gave Elijah a sidelong pout. “I was listening to that.”

“Well, it’s horrific,” Elijah said. “If we’re going to be stuck together for the next few days, I suggest we listen to something we both like.”

“Fine,” Katherine said, motioning towards her iPod. “Knock yourself out. I have literally thousands of songs on there.”

“We probably only require a few hundred.” Elijah reached over, worked the iPod out of the cradle, and then started to thumb his way through her music. 

“ABBA?” he said incredulously. “The Bee Gees?”

“So?” Katherine said, her tone somewhat defensive. “The seventies were my decade. Bell bottoms. Studio 54. Dirty hippies who were so high they had no idea you’d tapped a vein.”

“The Vietnam War,” Elijah said. “Watergate. Kent State.”

Katherine sighed. “You always have to see the negative in everything,” she said. “Where were you in the seventies?”

Elijah shrugged. “I was in Boston for most of the decade. I taught history at Harvard.”

Katherine glanced over at Elijah, who was still perusing her music collection like he was memorizing it. “Stefan was also at Harvard in the seventies.”

“Yes, I know,” Elijah said with an absent frown. “I knew him briefly.” He let out an exasperated sigh. “Please tell me you have Miles Davis.”

“No, but there’s some Thelonious Monk and Charles Mingus,” she said. “And you knew Stefan? He never mentioned that.”

Elijah shrugged as he leaned over and put the iPod back in the holder. “He was compelled to forget, I believe.”

 _You believe?_ she wondered, but she didn’t say it out loud.

“I can just picture what you looked like in the seventies,” she said with a mischievous grin. “With long sideburns and a porn ‘stache.”

Elijah turned to her with a frown. 

“I had very well-groomed facial hair,” he said. “I always strive to look and dress impeccably, no matter what fashion foibles are à la mode.”

“I knew it!” she crowed. “I’ll bet you used to wear turtlenecks under your sports jacket, too.”

Elijah opened his mouth to say something and then shook his head. “Shut up,” he said. “Besides, you’re one to talk. You just admitted to liking bell bottoms.”

Katherine laughed. “Touché,” she said, unaware of his surprised glance.

With that, they settled into a comfortable silence.

*****

By nightfall, they’d reached western North Dakota. After driving along empty roads for what seemed forever, they finally found a town with a single run-down motel on the city limits, far from the interstate or any other major highways. Katherine would rather have returned to I94 and driven through the night to the next city, but Elijah insisted on stopping, of course, saying he needed to “decompress,” which Katherine interpreted as “no-Katherine time.” For some reason, the thought annoyed her to no end, which made her even more prickly than usual with him. As a result, their tempers were frayed by the time they stopped.

As she unloaded the car, taking the opportunity to slip a couple of blood bags into her duffel bag, Elijah went to rent their rooms. He returned just as she finished stacking their bags on the sidewalk, and she looked up at him expectantly. He was twirling a key around his finger and looked almost… apprehensive.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. She grabbed for the key, but he moved his hand away, holding it out of her reach.

“We have to share a room,” he said, his words fast and clipped. 

She stared at him for a moment. “You mean… you and me?” she asked.

Elijah rolled his eyes. “Who else,” he said. He bent to pick up the bags, including hers. “The clerk said no other rooms are available.”

Katherine looked around the parking lot, empty except for her SUV and an old Chevy Malibu parked near the front office, presumably belonging to the clerk.

“Really?” she said. “Huh. You’re a vampire, remember? Why didn’t you just compel him to give us two rooms?”

Elijah gave her a disapproving look. “Not every problem needs to be solved by compulsion, Katerina,” he said irritably. “Of course, if you don’t believe me, you can go take care of the matter yourself. In the meantime, I am going to get settled in the room.”

He headed over to one of the doors. Katherine hesitated for a moment, looking back at the front office for a moment before following him with a shrug.

The room was rundown and smelled of stale cigarette smoke, but it was clean, and the linens on the bed—singular—were old, but freshly washed.

“You can have the bed,” Elijah said as he set down his suitcase. “I’ll take the floor.” 

“Oh, please,” Katherine said, a mocking tone entering her voice. “We’re both adults here. I’m not afraid of sleeping in the same bed, but if you are, I understand that completely.” She gave him a sweet, but false smile as she slunk past him and threw herself onto the bed.

Elijah scowled. “Of course I’m not afraid of you,” he said heatedly. “I have no problem sleeping on the bed with you. I was merely attempting to be a gentlemen.”

“Thanks,” Katherine said, raising her chin. “For thinking of my virtue. But, this is the twenty-first century, and I don’t have a problem with sleeping with you either.” She froze when she realized what she’d just said. “I mean, on the bed. Sleeping with you on the bed. Platonically.”

“I understood what you meant,” Elijah said, his face relaxing into a smile. “Don’t worry, sleeping _with_ you is the furthest thing from my mind.”

As he set his suitcase on the desk and started to look through it, Katherine felt a sharp jab of disappointment at his words, which was ridiculous. Of course, she didn’t _want_ to sleep with Elijah either, no matter what her subconscious thought of the matter. Of course, he wasn’t terrible to look at—not as pretty as Damon or even Stefan, but handsome. She had no doubt that he’d be fantastic in bed at his age and experience or that she’d have much trouble seducing him if she set her mind to it. Which of course she wouldn’t. Not ever.

“Oh, good,” she said. 

She considered adding something more, something challenging, flirtatious, but decided against it. She was feeling oddly vulnerable that evening and didn’t want to deal with his inevitable rejection, even if Elijah didn’t take an innuendo-filled comment seriously. Maybe _because_ he wouldn’t take it seriously. 

“I’m going to get cleaned up,” he said, gathering a few things in his arms. He turned back and gave her a somewhat scolding look. “And please take your shoes off the bed.”

Katherine rolled her eyes, but complied, hanging her boots off the bed as she grabbed the TV remote from the nightstand, switching it on as he disappeared into the bathroom. 

A few minutes later, he emerged, a towel around his neck, his hair slightly damp and scraggly around his face, and her heart lurched in her chest. He’d removed his jacket and tie and rolled up his sleeves. He looked almost casual, but only _almost_. Something was missing.

“So,” she said, giving him a once-over and then wagging her brows. “Where are the jeans?” 

Elijah frowned. “In my luggage,” he said. “Where else would they be?”

Katherine grinned. “Oh, you don’t have to be formal on my account,” she said. “I won’t tell anyone. Besides, I get the feeling I’d like improper Elijah.”

Elijah rolled his eyes and tossed the towel over the back of the desk chair. 

“And you don’t like proper Elijah?” he asked as he opened his toiletries kit and started to rummage in it. 

Katherine looked at him sharply. He had an odd tone, and she wasn’t sure what to make of it. She had a feeling that she was missing something, something important.

“Sure, I could probably like him,” she said quietly. “I just don’t think he likes me.”

Elijah looked up and met her eyes, staring at her with an unfathomable look, and her heart started pounding. 

“He’d like you a lot better if you took your boots off the bed,” he said finally.

And the moment was gone. Katherine sighed and rolled off the bed. 

“Fine,” she said. “I’m going to go take a walk. Don’t wreck the place while I’m gone.”

Elijah looked like he wanted to say something to her, but she was already out the door.

*****

She returned an hour later after having wandered around trying in vain to find a cell signal, desperate to bitch to Lucy about how horrible and annoying Elijah was being. By the time she reached the door, however, she realized the walk had calmed her, as well.

She entered the room and froze in the doorway, smiling in spite of her annoyance. Elijah had combed his hair back into a semblance of perfection, and he’d changed into black silk pajamas. With any other man, she would have thought he was trying to seduce her, but she had a feeling that Elijah always went to bed that way.

“No cell reception,” she said by way of greeting.

“I know,” he said. “I tried, too.” He gave her a perceptive look. “Are you all right?”

Katherine nodded.

“Yeah,” she said. “I’m good.” She went over to the chair where she’d thrown her duffel bag and pulled out her sleeping things and her toiletries bag and then went into the bathroom to get ready for bed. 

When she emerged, he was already lying in bed. He turned off the television and turned to look at her, his brows rising in surprise.

“The Chicago Bears?” he asked, gesturing towards her t-shirt. “Are you a fan?”

“Of course,” Katherine said as she crawled into the bed next to him and pulled the covers over her. “I’ve had season tickets for decades. I never miss a game—oh, wait, except for that one season I was locked in a tomb.”

“I’m sorry,” Elijah said, turning his head to look at her. “Knowing I made you miss a few Bears games fills me with an almost unbearable guilt.”

“Ha, ha,” she said. “Very punny.” 

He looked like he wanted to say more, but then he turned away.

“Good night, Katherine,” he said quietly.

“Night,” she murmured. Before she knew it, she’d slipped into a deep sleep.

**VII.**

Katherine woke up with a start. She was almost certain she'd heard a sound outside the room. She pressed against the warm body she was lying against, reluctant to get up, but then curiosity got the best of her. She rolled away with a groan, pushing herself into a sitting position and swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She just sat for a moment as she tried to get her bearings. _Oh, right. Noise. Outside. Investigate. Might as well get it over with._ She started to push herself to her feet.

"Whatsit?" Elijah murmured, his voice thick with sleep. He reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her back onto the bed. She let out a soft shriek as she overbalanced and fell onto him. She started to move away, but he slid his arm around her, holding her fast, his hand pressed against the small of her back. She tensed to struggle, but then his other hand was in her hair, pulling her closer, and his mouth was on her pulse point, wet and hot. She relaxed against him and he sighed.

"Katerina," he murmured in Bulgarian—not the modern language, but the one she spoke as a child—and a chill went through her. She didn't understand why he spoke it now, but it was such a turn-on that she wasn't going to question it. "You smell so good."

"Elijah," she whispered, shivering as he dragged his tongue down the column of her neck. "What are you doing?"

"Shh."

She opened her mouth to protest, but then he was kissing her, rolling her onto her back, pushing his leg between her thighs. Her skin felt like it was on fire wherever he touched her, and all she wanted was _more_ , more of his kisses, more of his touch, more of _him_. The next thing she knew, their clothes were gone and his weight was pressing her into the mattress as he devoured her, his fangs cutting into her tongue. She whimpered as the sweet, coppery taste of her own blood filled her mouth, and she wrapped her arms around him tightly, pulling him closer. His hands skated down her sides to the apex of her thighs and then something hard was nudging against her. She spread her legs and tilted her hips to let him in and—

Katherine awoke with a start, disoriented, her eyes wide as she tried to remember where she was. But then she felt something hard and silk-clad beneath her, and she realized she was in the motel room with Elijah— _on_ Elijah, as it seemed. And fully clothed in her night things still, as was he. Apparently it had all been a dream. 

"Thank God you're awake," a dry voice somewhere above her head said with a mixture of humor and annoyance. "My arm's asleep."

Katherine rolled off him quickly, only stopping right before she fell off the bed. 

"You should've woken me then," she said, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. She'd just had a sex dream about Elijah for the third night in a row. There was no way it could be a coincidence.

Elijah gave her a lazy smile that did all kinds of things to her insides that she didn't want to think about, at least not when she was awake.

"You were sleeping so deeply," he said. "I hated to wake you. Did you have pleasant dreams?"

Katherine scowled as she jumped out of bed. 

"Fuck you! Stay out of my head!" Katherine said with a snarl.

Elijah's eyebrow shot up as he pushed himself up on his elbows. "I would never violate your privacy like that, Katherine. Whatever you dreamt, those thoughts were your own. Besides, aren't you on vervain?"

Katherine's eyes widened as she stared at him, and her face went hot as his lips twisted into a smirk. Turning away abruptly, she grabbed her bag and stomped into the bathroom.

A while later, she emerged freshly showered and dressed, somewhat calmer even if her gums were still tingling unpleasantly from the vervain she'd gargled with her mouthwash. Elijah was up and dressed, his things already packed, frowning at his phone as he tapped on the screen. She ignored him as she collected her things, stopping briefly to shove her feet into her shoes before she made her way to the exit.

"Hurry up, I want to get back on the road," she called over her shoulder as she pulled open the door. She froze as she saw the vacant space in the lot where her SUV had once been.

"Oh, _fuck_."

"What?" Elijah appeared in the doorway behind her and stopped short. "Where's your car?"

"I don't _know_!" she said, her voice rising in panic. "It was still here when I got back last night!" She wandered across the lot to the parking space, looking around as if the car might magically appear. 

"Fuck," she said again, shoving her hands into her pockets. "I'm going to _eat_ whoever did this. And then I'm going to kill them. Slowly."

"Whoever it was is long gone," Elijah said. She looked towards his voice to find him crouched down next to the hotel clerk's old Malibu. He pushed himself to his feet again, brushing dust off his knees. "Tires were slashed."

She looked over at the door of the main office, noticing for the first time that it was hanging off its hinges, and then turned back to meet Elijah's eyes. He nodded and then they both started to walk towards the office. She reached the door just before he did and was about to enter when he suddenly picked her up from behind and moved her aside. She opened her mouth to protest, but then she smelled it—blood.

He lifted the door out of the way and then stepped inside.

"It's safe," he said, unnecessarily as she'd already followed him in. 

The stench of blood was even stronger now. It was everywhere, painting the walls, the reception desk, the floor. She could see a pair of mismatched Nikes sticking out from behind the desk, one pristine white, the other red, and it took her a moment to register why the shoes were different colors. She looked up at the blood splattering the walls and sighed.

"I'm hungry," she said. "Whoever did this could have at least offered to share."

At that moment, Elijah re-entered the room from the back holding a long rug under one arm, a shovel in the other hand. He shot her a disapproving glare as he set aside the shovel and then unrolled the rug onto the floor and she sighed.

"I'm just kidding," she said as she moved around the desk, crouching down to help him. "Sheesh." 

"You could be a bit more respectful of the dead," he said, his tone slightly scolding, but not unkind. 

"They're just _food_ ," she said, her voice tinged with scorn.

"You don't really think that."

She met his eyes for a moment and then looked away. She set the victim's feet on the carpet and then lifted her thumb to her mouth, licking the blood off, grimacing at the stale taste. "He's been dead for at least three hours," she said. "Maybe shortly before sunrise. I think I might have heard something." Right before dreaming.

"I didn't hear a thing," Elijah said, frowning slightly as he positioned the body. "I haven't slept that well in ages."

She glanced at him from under her lashes, wondering what would give him sleepless nights.

"I had nothing to do with this," she said, her stomach starting to churn.

Elijah looked up, his eyes widening slightly. "I know that," he said. A smile teased at his lips as he added, "You wouldn't waste this much blood."

Katherine stared at him for a moment and then she snorted. 

"Damn straight," she said, mollified. "Waste not, want not." She sat back on her heels as he rolled up the carpet. "Do you need help carrying him?"

"No," Elijah said as he got to his feet and then heaved the body over his shoulder. "Let's get this over with."

Katherine checked to make sure the coast was clear, but the motel was as deserted as ever. They made their way over to the field, beating a path through the weeds, stopping just out of sight of the motel or the street. The open fields stretched out before them, no neighboring structures to be seen. He set down the body and started to dig as she stood lookout. He arranged the body carefully in the grave and then they took turns filling it. Finally, she patted down the soil with the shovel and then set it aside.

"There," she says. "But it feels like something's missing." She cocked her head at Elijah. "Know any prayers?"

"No."

"I suppose I could sing," she said. 

Elijah nodded. "That sounds appropriate. Please do."

"All right." Katherine took a deep breath and then began to sing in a clear, sweet voice. 

_One toke over the line, sweet Jesus  
One toke over the—_

"Stop," Elijah said, holding up his hand. "'One Toke over the Line'? A song about getting high on marijuana is your definition of appropriate funeral music?"

Katherine shrugged. "It's the only song I know by heart with the word 'Jesus' in it," she said. 

"I see," Elijah said. "Very well. Carry on, then." He furrowed his brow as he turned his attention back to the mound. Katherine had a feeling he wished he had a hat that he could take off in respect. Then she imagined Elijah in a fedora and her stomach made an odd flip-flop.

"Katherine?"

She jerked out of her reverie and looked at him.

"What?"

Elijah gave her a bemused glance and then motioned to the grave. "Please continue."

"If you think you can do better…"

Elijah sighed. "I can't," he said. "I've never been terribly religious, especially not with the fate life dealt me."

Katherine snorted.

"Yeah," she said. "I hear you."

She hesitated for a moment and then she moved to stand next to him, slipping her hand in his as she finished the song.

**VIII.**

They ran. They headed across country, avoiding houses and people, in the general direction of the interstate. The plume of smoke from the fire they'd set at the motel to remove all traces of their stay and the murder grew smaller and smaller the further they got away from it. Elijah wanted to put as much distance between them and the motel before they got back on the road and Katherine wasn't going to argue.

After about an hour of running, she stopped, calling out to him before sitting down on a nearby rock. Tugging off one of her boots, she was rubbing her foot when Elijah turned up.

"We're losing time," he said with a pointed look at his watch. "Stop dawdling. We're vampires; we don't need to rest."

"We're vampires who need _blood_ ," Katherine said. "And I'm tired and _starving_. I haven't eaten since last night. All the blood was in the cooler in the car."

"It's probably gone bad by now anyway." Elijah shoved his hands into his pants pockets and looked around.

They both heard it at the same time. Something crashing through the underbrush. Katherine had her foot back in her boot in a flash and moved to Elijah's side. He grabbed her and pulled her behind him. They waited, tensing as it came closer, ready to attack. Finally it burst into the clearing in a flurry of movement and fur.

A short, roly-poly dog with dirty, grayish fur that was probably white in better days waddled into the clearing, wagging its tail wildly as it rushed towards them.

"Why, hello, lunch." Katherine started to move forward, but Elijah's arm shot out, holding her in place.

"Wait," he said. "That's the oddest looking dog I've ever seen." 

"So?" Katherine said, rolling her eyes. "He's just a mutt. Mutts always look weird." 

"What happened to its legs?"

" _His_ legs," Katherine corrected. "Judging by those dangly bits. I dunno, maybe he's part Corgi. Can I eat him now?"

Elijah frowned. "If we head towards the highway, we will be certain to find something more appropriate for the palate than this… _creature_."

Beggars can't be choosers," Katherine said, crouching down. "Here, doggy."

"I like dogs," Elijah said.

Katherine looked up at Elijah and shrugged. "I like people, but I still eat them."

"I like dogs better than people," he said.

Katherine sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. 

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" she said, not expecting an answer. Then she asked. "You're saying I shouldn't eat him?"

"Please don't."

"All right," Katherine said, pushing herself to her feet, giving the dog one last longing look. She was hungry, but Elijah was right: the mutt was anything but appetizing. "So, what now?" 

"We keep going," Elijah said. "I heard a semi before we stopped; the road can't be far." He looked at the dog, who was rolling around in the dirt. "We should take him with us. He won't survive long in this heat."

"All right," Katherine said. "We can keep him. But you're the one who will be feeding him and taking him on walks, young man."

At that moment, the dog threw himself onto Elijah and started humping his leg. Katherine started to snicker as Elijah made a horrified grimace and set about trying to pry the dog off his leg. Katherine laughed and laughed until tears were streaming down her face and the peals of laughter had turned into breathless giggles.

"Of course you'd think this is funny," he said, brushing off his pants' leg with rigor. 

"It's hi _lar_ ious." Katherine shook her head as the dog ran to her and she scratched him behind his ears. 

They set off again, walking slowly instead of running this time. After a few minutes of continuously stopping and waiting for the dog to catch up, Elijah scooped him up and started to carry him, much to Katherine's surprise, who'd never expect Elijah to willingly soil one of his immaculate suits. And within seconds, it seemed, Elijah was covered in fur.

"He sheds like it's his job," Katherine said, trying to keep a straight face. "You could start wearing white. Maybe Klaus will let you borrow one of those suits that make him look like a waiter. No one would notice the dog hair then."

Elijah gave her an arch look. "Don't let him hear you say that," he said. "He loves those suits." 

"He still looks like a dork in them."

Elijah gazed at her for a long moment like he was inclined to agree, but then the dog started to bark and struggle so Elijah let him down. The dog went off a short distance to pee on a tree as Elijah and Katherine watched him in a companionable silence.

"We should name him 'Charlemagne'," he said suddenly. 

"'Charlemagne'?" Katherine looked down at the mutt, who had finished peeing and was now busy licking his balls with all the dedication of, well, someone who could lick their own balls. She cocked a brow at Elijah. "Isn't that a bit too… regal?"

Elijah shrugged. "Perhaps he'll live up to his name."

"Uh huh." Katherine looked down. "What do you say to that, Charlemagne?"

As if he understood the conversation, the dog sat up straight, raising his chin and wagging his tail. Katherine's eyes widened slightly and then she glanced over at Elijah who was looking smug. 

"Oh, _God_ ," she muttered. "You're going to be unbearable about this, aren't you?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Elijah said, but his lips twitched like he was trying not to grin. He started to walk on ahead, slow enough for Charlemagne to keep up as he waddled after him before Elijah finally stooped to pick him up again. It was love. 

"Jeans," Katherine said suddenly. "If you wore those jeans from the other night in public instead of that dark suit, no one will notice the dog hair."

Elijah turned around and she hurriedly raised her gaze from his ass to his face, which was unfortunately not lost on him. He raised a brow. "You seem terribly fascinated by my jeans."

 _More like what’s in them_ , Katherine thought and then she tripped. Elijah rushed forward and caught her before she fell, pulling her towards him. They stared at each other for a long moment, Elijah's eyes wide. His gaze fell to her mouth and she caught her breath. He leaned forward and she closed her eyes expectantly. Just then, something wet and slimy slobbered all over her face and her nose was filled with the stench of dog breath.

"Ew!" Katherine cried in disgust as she pulled away. "I've been kissed by a dog!" 

Elijah's whole body was shaking with suppressed laughter and he bent over, letting Charlemagne jump to the ground again as he laughed, holding his sides.

"I'm glad you find this so amusing," Katherine said irritably. But then her lips twitched and she was laughing as well. They laughed together for a few moments, companionably, as if there weren't half a millennium of distrust and strife between them. Her face softened as she watched Elijah. The laughter took years off his face, making him look young and carefree again, like the Elijah she'd met as a human. She wondered what it would have been like if she'd fallen for him then and not for Klaus. If she'd trusted him to save her instead of taking her fate into her own hands. 

As his chuckling subsided, Elijah reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a handkerchief. "Here."

She took it from him and wiped off her face.

"Thanks," she said. She gazed at him for a moment and then she looked away. The moment had somehow passed, and she wasn't really sure what to think of the whole thing anyway.

Elijah bent down to pick up Charlemagne again and then grabbed his suitcase, pausing as if he were listening.

"The road is over there," he said, pointing into the underbrush. They set off in that direction.

*****

A short time later, they came upon a house on the edge of what could have been either a major country highway or an almost deserted back road. The house was rundown and in desperate need of a coat of paint or two, with steps made of stacked cinder blocks instead of a stairway, but obviously lived in. An empty dog chain was around a large tree trunk, with a bowl of water and food nearby, and Charlemagne took off at a run, diving into the food bowl head first with a joyful bark.

"Hello?" Elijah called. He listened for a moment and then turned to Katherine, who was eying an old, beat-up pick-up of an indiscriminate color.

"Good," she said, making a beeline for the truck. "Then they won't have a problem with us taking their wheels."

Elijah followed her over to the pick-up. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Why, you chicken?" Katherine asked teasingly. Opening the door on the driver side, she got in and started to look for the keys.

"Of course not," Elijah said with a huff as he stuck his head in the open window on the driver side. "It just doesn't seem right—"

"Well, you'd compel them to give it to us anyway," she pointed out. "So we're just skipping a step." As she spoke, she ducked under the dash and pulled out the ignition wires.

"I suppose," Elijah said. He watched her for a moment and then opened the door, picking up Charlemagne, who'd just bounded up with a happy yip, and placing him on the seat. A few moments later, a number of bangs from the bed of the truck told her that Elijah had thrown their luggage in the back. 

Elijah appeared in the door again and wrinkled his nose. "It smells like wet dog and kibble in here," he said. 

Katherine shrugged as she fiddled with the ignition wires. "Then Charlie should feel right at home." 

Elijah let out a huff. "His name is Charlemagne." Taking the handkerchief out of his breast pocket, he shook it out and laid it on the seat with a grimace.

"He looks like a Charlie," Katherine said, grinning in satisfaction as the engine jumped to life. She sat up and looked over at Elijah, who was about to sit down on the handkerchief. "There's dog spit all over that, remember?"

Elijah froze and frowned down at the seat. "Bugger," he muttered. 

Katherine pressed her lips together to keep from laughing and then shrugged out of her flannel shirt.

"Here," she said. "I don't mind if it smells of dog. Now vampire butts, on the other hand..." She glanced at Elijah, unable to keep from smirking when she caught his glare. His eyes dropped lower to the tight tank top hugging her body and then he looked away.

She started to pull out of the drive, but stepped on the brakes when Elijah said, "Stop."

"What's wrong?" she asked as he took his phone out of his pocket. 

"Nothing," he said. "I want to note down the address," he said. He leaned out of the window to read the address on the mailbox and then sat back again, motioning towards the house. "These people don't have much. It doesn't seem right to steal their car without recompense, no matter how much we need it."

Katherine gave him a long look and then turned her attention back to driving. 

"I wouldn't have expected you to be a good Samaritan," she said. 

"There's a lot you don't know about me."

"True," she said. She shrugged. "I guess I could say the same."

"I guess you could," he said. His tone was quiet and thoughtful and once again Katherine had that feeling she was missing something, but before she could put her finger on it, Charlemagne barked. 

"That's right, Charlie," Katherine said, reaching down to pat his head. "We don't know much about you either."

"His name is Charlemagne," Elijah said, his voice tinged with annoyance. "And I'm quite certain he does not appreciate you talking down to him."

"Well, I'm glad at least one of us is fluent in dog," she said, grinning as she gave him a sidelong glance, ignoring the little flip her heart made when he smiled back. A moment later, she was distracted by a sign for the interstate and she let out a soft sigh of relief. Soon they'd be out of this godforsaken region and back to civilization.

**IX.**

They reached Billings, Montana, by late afternoon, making surprisingly good time in the old truck so that they were only off their travel schedule by half a day, all told. A few times, she'd thought she'd seen her SUV in the rear-view mirror, but she convinced herself she was just seeing things. She dropped Elijah off at a dog groomer, where he planned to get an appointment through "persuasion," and then she made a run to a pet store and then a local hospital, picking up a small blood supply to last them to their next stop. After that, she made her way to pick up Elijah again. When she reached the dog groomer, Elijah was already waiting outside with a white, fluffy dog who started wagging his tail furiously when Katherine drove up.

"He was extremely well behaved," Elijah said as he lifted Charlemagne onto the seat and then climbed in after him. "The groomer gave him a treat."

"Aw, good boy, Charlie!" Katherine said, reaching down to pat his head before putting the car into gear.

"Charlemagne," Elijah muttered. 

"What?" Katherine said, cupping her ear. "What did you say?"

Elijah let out a demonstrative sigh and took out his phone. "Nothing." 

Katherine grinned. "Do you think whoever stole my car freaked when they found all the blood in the trunk?" 

"Presumably. Perhaps they fear they've aroused the ire of a serial killer."

"Well, technically they _have_ ," she said with a scowl. "At least they'll _wish_ it was just a normal serial killer after them if I ever get my hands on them. I _liked_ that car."

"It was a very serviceable car," Elijah said. He looked up from his phone and pointed to the road. "I found a hotel that allows pets. Take a right at the next intersection."

Katherine bit back the observation that they could stay wherever they wanted and just Jedi-mind-trick the clerk into letting Charlemagne stay. Elijah had disposed of a dead body, committed arson, stolen a car, and compelled a visit to the dog groomer, all in a day's work—maybe his strict moral code wouldn't allow one more sin, no matter how small.

They obtained a room without a hitch, neither commenting on the fact that Elijah got one instead of two, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Elijah took Charlemagne for a walk as Katherine freshened up, returning just as she was finishing up. He stopped short in the doorway, looking her up and down as his brows shot up.

"You look… lovely," he said, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed. "Are you going somewhere?"

Katherine suddenly felt nervous and she shifted her weight as she reached up to run her fingers through her hair, dropping her hand quickly when she realized she'd ruin the updo she'd put it in.

"Uh, yeah," she said, cursing herself inwardly at the hesitance and uncertainty in her voice. " _We_ are going somewhere, actually. There's a bar nearby, I was wondering if you wanted to go with me? It's just a dive, really, probably not your thing, but I was thinking we could use a little downtime after all the stress of the past few days."

Elijah looked at her for a long moment, a look of surprise on his face, and then he frowned, looking down at Charlemagne, who was gnawing on one of the dog chews Katherine had bought him.

"What about Charlemagne?"

"I've thought of that," Katherine said, her face brightening. She walked over to the bathroom and opened the door. "Water, food, a blanket, toys - even some newspaper. Though I'm guessing that won't be an issue again till we get back." 

Elijah nodded and then he smiled, genuine and sincere, and her heart leapt. "Then I'd be honored to escort you to this 'dive'."

*****

They had almost reached the bar when Katherine spied a car parked in an alley, outside the sparse circle of light of the street lamp. She ducked into the alleyway and sauntered over to the car, ducking down behind it as she turned on the light of her key chain and started to look through her purse.

"What are you doing?" Elijah asked.

"We need new license plates," Katherine said. "They're bound to have reported the stolen pick-up to the police by now." She let out a noise of triumph as she pulled out a nail file and then glanced up at him. "Keep a lookout, will you?"

"Fine," he said, his voice dripping with disapproval. "But we could just buy a new car. There's no reason to turn everything into an exercise in grand larceny."

Katherine chuckled as she snapped off the plate and stuck it in her purse before pushing herself to her feet. 

"Life is more fun that way," she pointed out as she walked around the car to the front. She thought she heard him mutter a "true," but attributed it to her imagination.

"Done," she said finally, straightening up as the second license plate joined the first in her purse. "Let's go." She started to head back to the street when she noticed that Elijah was standing stock still, his eyes fixed at a point in the shadows at the far end of the alley. 

She lowered her voice. "What's wrong?"

Elijah slowly shook his head. "I don't know," he said. "I thought I saw something. I'm probably just seeing things."

Katherine frowned as she followed his gaze down the alley, her stomach twisting slightly in apprehension. It was easy to be paranoid after all they'd been through in the past twenty-four hours, with her stolen SUV and the dead clerk. 

"Maybe," she said. She grabbed the sleeve of his suit jacket and tugged on it. "Come on, let's get out of here. I need a drink. Or ten. Grand larceny is hard work."

Elijah nodded absently and let her guide him back to the street and then to the bar, which was just a short distance away. She headed to the bathroom to clean all the dirt and grease from her hands as he looked for a table. When she returned, he had already ordered a glass of whiskey for himself and a pitcher of beer for her. 

"Your ten drinks," he said. He wasn't smiling, but she thought she caught a teasing glint in his eye.

"Thanks," she said, slipping onto the chair next to him. She waited as he poured beer into a mug and then pushed it towards her. 

"Cheers," he said, raising his glass. They clinked their glasses and she took a deep draught, drinking the glass half empty before setting the mug down again. She leaned back in her chair, letting out a sigh of relief. Elijah looked over at her and then snorted in amusement.

"Come here," he said, taking out his handkerchief. "You have a foam mustache."

"Um, no," Katherine said, leaning away and holding up a hand to ward him off. "I know where that handkerchief has been."

Elijah rolled his eyes. "I got a new one out of my luggage before we left, of course," he said, slightly scandalized. "What do you take me for?"

"All right, all right," Katherine said, holding up her hands placatingly. She leaned towards him expectantly, meeting him halfway. He dabbed delicately at her upper lip, removing the foam, his gaze fixed on his handiwork, and she started to get a funny feeling deep in her abdomen. Her tongue darted out to moisten her lips, and his eyes, still riveted to her mouth, widened. He dropped his hand and leaned in, his intent obvious, and sudden agitation overwhelmed her.

"I, um, I have to go to the bathroom." Katherine jumped to her feet so fast she almost upended her chair. 

Elijah fell back on his chair and then got to his feet as well, his brows furrowing. "But you just went."

"I, um… weak bladder," Katherine said with a shrug. "I'll be back in a minute!"

Before he could reply, she hurried off towards the bathrooms, reaching into her pocket to retrieve her phone as soon as she was out of sight of their table. The door to the alley behind the bar was propped open and she slipped through it, pressing her phone to her ear.

"Hey," Lucy said, her voice heavy with sleep. "You know what time it is?" 

"We're only an hour behind you," Katherine pointed out. "It's not even midnight in Chicago yet."

"I have an early coven meeting," Lucy said, but Katherine could tell from her tone that she wasn't really annoyed. "What's up? How are things with your favorite original?"

"Fine," Katherine said. "Horrible. I don't know. It's… complicated. Weird. He just wiped beer foam off my upper lip and I think he was going to kiss me and I… I don't know, I just panicked."

Lucy sighed. "You're in love with him, aren't you?"

"What?" Katherine's heart started to pound. "Don't be ridiculous, ew! Where would you get an idea like that?"

"I totally saw this coming," Lucy said. "You talk a lot when you're drunk. I've pieced together a few things over the years."

"No," Katherine said firmly. "We're not having this conversation. And I'm changing the subject. Right now."

"Okay."

"We found a stray dog on the prairie. His name is Charlemagne." It wasn't a complete change of subject, but she couldn't think of anything else to talk about at the moment that didn't somehow involve Elijah anyway.

"We?" Lucy's voice took on an arch tone and Katherine rolled her eyes. "That sounds very… domestic. So you two are adoptive parents now?"

"Ha, ha," Katherine said, "very funny. He tried to kiss me earlier—again—and then Charlie got in the way and now we're on an actual date and I just…" Her voice trailed off. 

"Wow," Lucy said. "You must really be serious about him if you're losing all your maneater instincts."

"Lucy."

"Just kidding! All right, _I_ will change the subject. Do you remember old Mrs Miller in 2b?"

Katherine leaned against the brick wall, the tension starting to ebb from her body as she listened to Lucy's anecdote about her dotty neighbor. She could always count on Lucy to help put a perspective on things. Even if Katherine ended up feeling like an idiot. 

After a few minutes, they wound up the call, and she stuck her phone back in her pocket. She was about to head back into the bar to face Elijah with a little more of her usual aplomb when she heard a sound behind her.

"Hey, sweetheart. Gotta light?"

"I don't smoke," she called over her shoulder. 

"Well, now, that's too bad."

She frowned at the man's tone and stopped. Before she could respond, she heard a click followed by a bang and she jumped out of the way, the bullet that embedded itself in the back door of the bar just missing her. She whirled around to face her attacker, looking for something that she could use as a weapon. The man, a scruffy, mean-looking bulky guy in his late 20s was standing about ten feet away from her, holding a gun pointed at her in one hand and a coil of rope. She could smell the vervain from where she was standing. 

"Who are you?" she asked. "What do you want?"

"Name's Hank," he said, giving her a wide smile. "And I hate vamps."

"Well, _that’s_ obvious," Katherine said, glancing around as she looked for an escape. She wouldn't be able to reach the door before he shot her, but maybe she could rush him.

"You're a pretty one, though," Hank said. "Me and my friends are gonna have some fun with you before we—"

He choked suddenly and fell forward on his face. Elijah was standing behind him, the man's heart in his hand, his expression grim. 

"Can't you—just for once—stay out of trouble?"

Katherine's joy and relief at seeing him were short-lived as his words hit her like a slap.

"It's not my fault that people keep trying to kill me!" she said, stomping her foot. "You of all people should know that!"

"I never tried to kill you!" Elijah snarled, tossing down the heart on the man's body as he stalked forward. 

"Oh, really?" Katherine said with a bitter laugh. "How about that time you compelled me to stay in a cave to hand me over to Klaus? Or, oh, I don't know, how about that one time you conspired with him to kill me?"

"I never wanted to hurt you," Elijah said insistently. "I only ever wanted to keep you safe. But you always had to run away and save yourself!"

"So, I'm supposed to be sorry because I didn't stick around to get killed?" Katherine snarled.

"No!" Elijah retorted. "Because you didn't let _me_ save you!"

Katherine's eyes widened, but before she could respond, he grabbed her and dragged her into his arms, crushing her lips with his. His mouth was hard and punishing and it thrilled Katherine down to her toes.

"Also," he said, breaking off the kiss. "You set me up to be stabbed." 

"Oh," Katherine said, her head spinning a little. Then she smiled brightly. "That's true. But I knew the dagger wouldn't kill you dead-dead. Just enough to break the compulsion."

Elijah nodded. "Your reasoning is acceptable," he said, and he pulled her into his arms once more, his mouth demanding, but gentler and coaxing now and Katherine felt herself melting into him. She reached between them and pressed her hand against his erection, squeezing it through the cloth. He pulled away with a strangled groan.

"Not here," he said, his voice rough and strained. "Let's get back to the room."

She just nodded and he lifted her into his arms. They rushed through the streets and back to the room, the door banging shut behind them as they stumbled into the room, tearing off their clothes in between kisses. They fell onto the bed, rubbing and rutting against each. He rolled her onto her back and pushed inside her. Katherine wrapped her legs around him and raised her hips to meet his thrust, when suddenly he went rigid and let out a harsh cry. As she lay waiting for him to _move_ finally, she felt a telltale wetness between her legs. _Oh_.

"Well," Katherine said, staring up at the ceiling. "That was…"

"You're not laughing." There was a note of surprise in his voice that Katherine found vaguely insulting, like he didn't think she could be sensitive in a situation like this.

"Of course not," she said, aiming for a reassuring tone. "Things like this happen. I am, after all, extremely hot, it's no wonder you'd lose control and blow your wad. I'm just hoping this doesn't turn into a common occurrence."

Elijah's jaw tightened. "Of course not," he ground out. "I assure you I'm normally quite adept in matters of the bedroom."

That's when the urge to laugh did come over her. His eyes narrowed as she pressed her lips together, her body shaking with repressed laughter. He reached between them to tickle her side and she shrieked and let out a peal of laughter as she tried to twist away, but his weight kept her pinned beneath him.

At that moment, Charlemagne barked and Katherine and Elijah stopped short. They turned their heads to find him sitting next to the bed, wagging his tail like he wanted to play, too. 

"Oh, _God_ ," Katherine said, pressing her hand to her face in mortification. "He's _watching_ us."

Elijah muttered a curse and rolled off her, pulling the blankets up over both of them.

"This isn't my night," he said. "How the hell did he get out of the bathroom?"

Katherine laughed and rolled closer to him, wrapping her arm around his midriff. "This isn't our week."

"I wouldn't go that far," Elijah said. He pulled her closer, his fingers entangling in her hair, which had fallen out of the updo.

Katherine buried her head on his chest in contentment. The sex had been… not so great, but she wouldn't trade this moment for the world.

"You know…" she said, trying to keep her tone free of humor, but failing. "I read somewhere that premature ejaculation is an evolutionary advantage in some species of primates—"

"Katherine…"

"Sorry," she said, pressing her lips together as she tried not to make another comment. Finally, however, she could no longer hold it in. "You know, in the old West, they called guys like you 'quick shoo-'"

"Shut. Up."

Katherine laughed then and pressed her cheek against his chest, listening to his heart beat as the borrowed blood pumped through his veins.

"You never told me what that Edwards guy stole from you," she said.

"No, I didn't," Elijah said slowly. "It wasn't so much what he stole as what he lost."

Katherine raised her head to look at Elijah, resting her chin on his chest. "What he lost?"

"Something that was of great value to me," he said, reaching down to stroke a strand of hair out of her face. "I want it back."

Katherine gazed at him for a long moment and then gave him a mischievous smile. "I'm sure that, between the two of us, we'll be able to _persuade_ him to return it."

Elijah twisted his head to look at her, gazing at her for a long moment without saying anything.

"I hope you're right." He frowned as she started to climb over him to the other side. "What are you doing?"

"You get the wet spot," she said. 

Elijah groaned. "Fine," he said, getting to his feet. "I'll get a towel. I have to wash up anyway."

She watched him head off to the bathroom, surprisingly unashamed of his nakedness, her eyes dropping from his broad shoulders to his ass. She could get used to this, she realized. And, for once in her life, the thought didn't seem so scary after all.

*****

The sound of Charlemagne barking to be let out to do his business woke them up. As Elijah rolled out of bed with a groan, Katherine took the opportunity to grab his pillow and pull it over her head.

"Oh. My. God." 

"What?" Katherine poked her head out from under the pillow, her eyes widening when she saw Elijah standing there with a few scraps of material in his hands. All he was wearing was a pair of boxer briefs that she wanted to tear off with her teeth.

"Oh, no!" she exclaimed. "Charlie! Bad dog!"

Elijah threw the scraps of material into the trashcan.

"My trousers," he said. "He ate my _trousers_. I could've sworn I repacked them last night."

"That's awful!" Katherine said. "I guess it's a good thing you brought the jeans."

Elijah narrowed his eyes. "You didn't."

Katherine's eyes widened in innocence. "I didn't what?"

"Katherine…"

"You don't think I did this!" Katherine cried indignantly. "I know how important your suits are to you. I love your suits. They're so… you. You and your suits, you're a thing, a power couple, like… like… Suilijah."

Elijah just stared at Katherine until she shifted uncomfortably.

"We can get you a new suit in Seattle," she said, widening her eyes in innocence. "No one has to ever know that you wore jeans."

" _You_ will get me a new suit in Seattle." He frowned at her as her expression brightened. "No, strike that. I will never trust you with my suits again." He reached into his suitcase and took out the jeans and a Henley shirt. He dressed quickly and then grabbed Charlemagne's leash. He stopped at the door and gave her a longing look for a moment. 

"We should take off when I get back," he said. "That guy said he had friends."

Katherine nodded. She would prefer to get him into bed for the rest of the day when he came back, but the sooner they put this town behind them, the better. He left and she slipped out of bed, heading to the shower.

**X.**

"We should drive through to Idaho without stopping," Elijah said as he perused the map. "Niklaus told me the werewolves in this part of the world are somewhat inbred and very dangerous. And tonight's the full moon."

"Charming," Katherine said. She snorted as Charlemagne barked from his perch between them, as if in agreement, and then she glanced at Elijah. "When did you talk to Klaus?"

"The first night of our journey," Elijah said, as he precisely folded up the map. "I'm going to drive down to Portland to see him when we're in Seattle. You don't have to come with me, of course. It's just… filial matters." 

Katherine snorted. "Us normal folk would say 'brother stuff'," she said teasingly. She hesitated for a moment and then she added. "I supposed I could go with you see Stefan."

Elijah's shoulders stiffened at the mention of Stefan's name and he turned his head away from her to look out the window.

"Yes," he said curtly. "I supposed you could."

Katherine opened her mouth and then closed it again. She had a feeling she'd hurt him somehow, but she had no idea how to fix it without opening a whole new can of worms, just when they were starting to find a common ground again. Instead of trying, she put the key in the ignition and started the car.

"You know, I could drive," Elijah said, his voice sounding hopeful. 

"No way," Katherine said emphatically. "My stolen car. My rules. I drive."

Elijah snorted and shook his head.

*****

They'd been on the road for about five hours when Katherine noticed the tail—or tails—as the same two or three cars seemed to be traveling behind them or in front of them at the same rate, an old Ford, a newer Dodge minivan, and further back an SUV that looked a lot like her baby. After she'd adjusted the rear-view mirror for the umpteenth time, Elijah asked her what was wrong.

"I think we're being followed," she said. "Don't," she put her hand on Elijah's arm as he started to turn, "don't look."

Elijah frowned. "Do you think it has to do with the man who attacked you last night? He said he had friends."

"Other vampire hunters?" Katherine shrugged. "Maybe."

Elijah sighed and pressed his hand to his temple. "Why do I get the feeling we can thank Niklaus for this turn of events?"

"Because you know him?" Katherine pointed. She reached over and slapped his jeans-clad thigh, leaving her hand resting on it. "Don't worry, I'll protect you."

Elijah stared at her hand and she jerked it away, feeling uncharacteristically shy. 

"After what happened last night, I have a feeling I'm not the one who needs protecting," he said, sounding a little smug. 

Katherine rolled her eyes. "I can take care of myself," she said. "I've been doing a pretty good job of it for the past five hundred years or so."

"Like you did with that man last night."

Katherine shrugged. "I would've thought of something," she said. "He wasn't particularly bright."

"That he wasn't." Elijah leaned forward, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the dash. "You need gas. The needle is dangerously close to 'E'."

Katherine gritted her teeth in annoyance. "I _know_ ," she said. "There's gas at the next exit in Missoula. I need a bite to eat."

Elijah raised a brow as he leaned back again, burying his fingers unconsciously in Charlemagne's fur as the dog laid his head where Katherine's hand had been moments before. "In broad daylight?"

Katherine snorted. "I was thinking along the line of snacks," she said. "Coffee. Pop. That sort of thing. Don't worry, I can wait till tonight before I feed again."

They pulled off the highway at the next exit, losing the 'tails.' Katherine relaxed as she drove to the gas station, which was just a short distance from the highway junction. After the weird events of the past few days, she reckoned she was getting paranoid. As she filled the tank, Charlemagne wandered off into a wooded area next to the gas station, Elijah in tow, and she grinned to herself as Elijah started to shake his finger at the dog in full scold mode, while Charlemagne's tail wagged wildly.

When she was done, she went into the shop and picked up some snacks and drinks before heading back to the car, where Elijah was already putting Charlemagne onto the front seat. His jeans were tight against his ass, and Katherine's stomach tightened. Now that she'd finally got him into the damn things, all she could think of was getting him out of them again. 

She got in the car and started it, tooling one-handed back onto the highway as her other one dug in a bag.

"Pork rind?" she asked, holding out the bag. 

Elijah grimaced as he raised his cup. "God, no," he said. "This coffee is bad enough."

"Well, I'm sorry," Katherine said, sarcasm seeping into her voice, "but they were fresh out of first flush Darjeeling."

Elijah harrumphed and then turned to look out the window. A comfortable silence fell over the car. 

They'd only about an hour out of Missoula, when a horrible smell filled the car.

"Oh, my God," Katherine said, making a face. "Was that you?"

Elijah gave her a look of horror as he rolled down the window. "Don't be ridiculous. Vampire's don't—it's Charlemagne. I think he needs to relieve himself."

"Again?" Katherine ask, raising a brow. "Didn't he just go at the gas station?"

"It must have been the burrito," Elijah said.

"You let him eat a _burrito_?" 

Elijah looked slightly flustered and pink. With any other man, she would have thought he was blushing. 

"Of course _not_!" he said with a scandalized tone. "It was on the ground next to a trash can. He swallowed it down whole before I could stop him."

"A likely story," she said archly. "All that dog needs to do is bat its eyelashes and you'll do whatever he wants. We need to pull over, fast. It looks like there's a rest area or exit ahead."

She took the next exit, which didn't seem to lead much of anywhere. A half mile from the interstate, however, she found a dirt road leading into the forest and she pulled into it. A little ways in, she came across a barrier, and she parked the truck to the side and got out. 

"Come on, Charlie." Picking the dog up off the seat, she set him down, cursing as he—once free—suddenly scurried off down the trail.

"Oh, hell," she muttered. 

"He won't go far," Elijah said. 

He exited the car as well, waiting briefly for Katherine to catch up, and then they started down the dirt road. They walked a short distance and then rounded the bend, where they found Charlemagne rooting around in the leaves at the base of a tree, obviously finished with his business. Instead of picking him up and head out to the car, however, Katherine looked around, stretching as she turned in place. The trees were dappled in late afternoon sun, and ground and air smelled fresh and clean. 

"This place is beautiful," she said.

"Yes." 

Katherine started to hear Elijah's voice so close to her, and she whirled around to find him right behind her, his eyes dark and intent as he gazed at her. She opened her mouth to ask him what he was doing, but then he was kissing her, his mouth insistent, but his hands gentle as he pulled her closer, holding her against his chest. She pressed against him, trying to get closer still as she returned his kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck. She was vaguely aware of Charlemagne barking in the background, and she waved her hand at him to shoo him off. She was not about to let Charlemagne cockblock them again. 

Elijah seemed to be of a similar mind, as she suddenly found herself with her back up against a tree. His mouth remained fused to hers as he reached between them to undo the button of her jeans. Just then she heard a pop and a whistling noise and something exploded into the bark right next to her head. 

" _Fuck_ ," Elijah breathed, breaking the kiss. He brushed his finger over the hole in the bark as he examined it. "Wooden bullets."

They whirled around just as three men carrying hunting rifles entered the clearing. Charlemagne had placed himself between them and the men and was barking wildly at them. 

"Well, lookie here," one of the men said, a large, hairy man who looked like he hadn't bathed any time recently. "If it ain't those vamps who killed Hank. We've been tracking you from North Dakota."

"Why us?" Elijah asked. "We mean you no harm. We're just passing through." 

"For sport," the man said. "I reckon you'll be a lot more fun than that night clerk. Probably not as tasty, though." He looked up at the sky or what little of it that could be seen through the canopy of the trees. "Sun's going down soon. Let's say we give you two a head start."

"A head start?" Katherine glanced at Elijah. His jaw was tight, his mouth set in a straight line.

"It's the full moon tonight," he said. "They're apparently werewolves in addition to being cannibals." 

She drew in a sharp breath, but before she could say anything, Elijah had pulled her in his arms, pausing only briefly to snatch up Charlemagne before he was racing through the woods. Shots rang out behind them, and she could hear the men laughing. 

Elijah raced back and forth for a while; Katherine assumed he was trying to confuse the trail when they tried to track them later. As the sun was sinking behind the trees, he finally came to a stop in a clearing, setting her down. He put Charlemagne into her arms and stepped away.

"You have to go to safety," he said. "I'll hold them off."

"Don't be ridiculous," Katherine said, raising her chin. "I'm not leaving you!"

Elijah's face grew hard. "You're leaving. And that's final."

"I'm staying with you!" Katherine said insistently. "And _that’s_ final. I'm smarter than a bunch of inbred werewolves, I can take care of myself!"

Elijah took a step towards her, but at that moment, they heard the howl of a wolf and then two and then more until the air was filled with a crescendo of mourning howls. Charlemagne let out a bark and began to wiggle in her arms, startling Katherine. She lost her grip and dropped him, and he tore off towards the edge of the clearing, barking and snarling. 

"Charlemagne!" 

Katherine started forward, but then one of the wolves darted into the clearing, grabbing Charlemagne in his teeth and shaking him before tossing him aside. Charlemagne rolled a short distance and then remained still. 

"No!" Katherine shrieked. Elijah reached for her, but she tore out of his grip, racing to Charlemagne. She could sense the wolf heading towards her from the corner of her eye, but all she could see was Charlemagne. When she reached his side, she dropped to her knees and scooped him up. He was unconscious, but breathing shallowly. Alive, but just barely.

"Katherine!"

She looked up, her eyes widening when she saw the wolf about to jump. And then he was gone, rolling away on the ground in whirl of fur and vampire. She winced as the wolf snarled and snapped at Elijah and then it let out a single, surprised yelp and went still. Elijah shoved the wolf off him and sat up, tossing its heart away from him with a grimace, and then he turned towards Katherine.

"Run," he said, pushing himself to his feet. He was covered in blood, but Katherine couldn't tell if he was injured. "Please, love, go. I need you to be safe."

She stood up as well, Charlemagne cradled in her arms, and was about to tell him again that she wasn't about to leave, when the dog shuddered. She looked down in alarm, but Charlemagne only whimpered, whistling softly through his nose, his tongue slobbering all over her hand. She started to smile, but then she heard a very Elijah-like cry from across the clearing. She looked over to see him doubled over, one of the wolves on his back, its teeth sunk into his shoulder as the third bounded into the clearing.

"Elijah!" she screamed. She was about head over to help, when Elijah exploded into movement, shaking the wolf off his back. The other wolf sprang and Elijah's arms shot up, grabbing its head and twisting it off, throwing it aside as the wolf's body dropped to his feet, blood spurting from its neck. Without losing momentum, Elijah threw himself onto the remaining wolf, tearing it to pieces as it screamed in pain.

When it was all over, Elijah turned to face her.

"I told you to run," he said and then his legs crumbled beneath him. Before he could fall, Katherine was at his side, holding him up. 

"Let's get out of here," she said, guiding him out of the clearing without looking back.

*****

They hadn't walked far on the way back to the truck when they came across a deserted one-room cabin, probably used as a hunting lodge. She helped Elijah over to a cot, placing Charlemagne beside him, and then she lit a fire with some pieces of wood stacked next to the fireplace. When she was done, she turned back to the bed where Elijah was watching her, his face edged with pain as he gently scratched Charlemagne's head.

"He's hurt badly," he said.

"You look worse," she said, kneeling down beside the cot.

"'Tis only a flesh wound," he said.

"You can quote Monty Python?" she said, trying to keep a light tone as she examined Charlemagne, but she had to admit to herself that it didn't look good for the poor pup. "Wow."

"I guess the seventies were my decade, too," he said.

"With the turtlenecks and the sideburns and the porn 'stache," she said.

"And a pipe," he said. "I smoked a pipe."

"You were a regular Dick Cavett."

"Shut up," he said, but he was smiling.

She stroked Charlemagne's fur, blinking back the tears as they started to fall thick and fast. Elijah reached over with one arm, pulling her down onto the cot into an awkward embrace. 

"He'll be okay, love," he said, running his fingers through her hair. "We're all going to be okay."

"No, he won't," she said, "not unless I do something." 

She hesitated and then she bit into her hand, holding it out to Charlemagne. Charlemagne raised his head weakly and licked the blood off before lying down again. She remembered a story she'd read once about a little girl whose dog had licked her wounds and then eaten her and wondered if what they said about giving dogs blood was true or just an old wives' tale, but she decided she didn't care. It wasn't like he didn't have two vampires to take care of him if he did turn feral. 

Almost instantaneously, Charlemagne's breathing became more even and his tail began to wag. Suddenly, he started to struggle, and he jumped off the bed. Yipping wildly, he raced around the room as Katherine and Elijah watched.

"We'll have to make sure he doesn't die in the next 24 hours," Elijah said, his voice weak and tired. "Kol turned one of his hunting dogs once. You don't want to know what happened."

Actually, Katherine kind of did, but at that moment, a coughing fit shook Elijah and when he took away his hand again, it was covered in blood.

"Fuck," Katherine muttered. She got up and fetched his jacket, searching through the pockets until she found the handkerchief. Pulling it out, she returned to the cot and sat down on the edge. 

"You sure you're gonna be okay?" she asked as she dabbed at his lips. 

"I can't be killed, remember?" he said. "Don't worry, I might be sick for a few days, but I'll be fine."

"Mmm, hmm," Katherine said noncommittally, pushing him back onto the cot. "Just rest." 

He seemed to be about to protest, but then he yawned and his eyes fell closed. Within a few moments, he slipped into a deep, but fitful slumber. Katherine watched him, absently petting Charlemagne, who'd come back to lay his head on her knee after his burst of post-healing energy. Theoretically, a werewolf bite shouldn't kill Elijah, right? Still, what if he was wrong? 

_I don’t want to lose him. I can’t._

Katherine came to a decision.

**XI.**

Katherine woke up just as the sun started peeking in the windows of the cabin. Elijah lay next to her in a fevered sleep, muttering in an unknown language. She pressed her hand to his forehead, pulling it away when she noticed how hot it was. _Fuck_. She had to get him back to civilization, and soon.

She gingerly extricated herself from Elijah's form, careful not to wake him, and got off the cot. Charlemagne jumped up from where he'd been lying pressed against Elijah's other side, but Katherine raised her hand. 

"No," she said quietly, so as not to wake Elijah. "Stay, Charlie. Guard Elijah."

To her surprise, Charlemagne merely wagged his tail and then plopped down next to Elijah again, his ears at attention as he turned back to his master, his eyes fixed on Elijah's face. Katherine shook her head and then headed out the door and down the dirt road.

When she reached the barrier where she parked the truck, she snorted in surprise. Next to the pick-up were the cars she'd seen following them on the highway the day before—the Dodge, the Ford—and _her_ SUV. She threw herself on the hood of her car, arms outstretched, glad that Elijah wasn't there to see her press a kiss to the metal, and then she looked over at the old, forlorn pick-up, looking much the worse for wear, obviously the work of the werewolves. All four tires were flat and the hood was open, bits and pieces of the engine lying on the ground, and the windshield had been smashed in. She pushed herself up and walked over to the pick-up, giving it a pat, and then she set about moving their stuff back into the SUV. When she was done, she examined the cars of the werewolves, bashing open the back window of the minivan with her elbow when she saw a couple of canisters of gasoline that were about to come in very handy. She walked over to the barrier and ripped off the bar, casually tossing it into the bushes, and then she grabbed the keys from her purse, letting out a sigh of relief as the engine purred into life.

When she reached the clearing where they'd encountered the wolves, she cut the engine and grabbed the canisters. She let out low whistle when she saw the extent of the damage, blood and body parts strewn across the clearing. She gathered them up and piled them in a fire ring she'd overlooked in the dark the night before. She had problems finding the head of the wolf Elijah had decapitated, but she finally discovered it lying a short distance away in the bushes, half-eaten, its eyeballs already gone. Despite being relatively inured to dead bodies after having disposed of more than her share over the centuries, she still held the head at arm's length by the hair as she carried it to the pile. Since the bodies were still covered in dew, she doused them in gasoline and then lit the fire, watching it burn for a few minutes to make sure it couldn't escape the confines of the fire ring. She was pretty sure Elijah would never stop nagging if she started a forest fire in addition to all her other criminal activities of the past few days.

When she reached the cabin, Elijah was already awake. She'd managed to find a small brook nearby and she brought him some water and some fresh clothes from their luggage so that he could clean up. Finally they were ready to go.

"Charlemagne was staring at me when I awoke," he said, leaning heavily on Katherine as she started to lead him across the floor. "It was creepy."

"He was just watching over you," Katherine said. "He's a good dog. We need to get him a treat when this is all over."

Elijah murmured his agreement as she helped him into the car and then placed Charlemagne on his lap. She had room to put him in the back now, but she couldn't bear the thought of letting him out of her sight. 

"You found her," he said as she reclined his seat. "Your car."

"Or she found me," Katherine said. "Now hush. Try to get some sleep; we have a long drive ahead of us."

He was already asleep in the time it took her to go around to the other side and get in.

*****

Elijah jerked awake and then leaned forward to peer at the dash clock.

"Shouldn't we be in Seattle by now?" he asked. His voice was raw and barely audible and Katherine's chest tightened. He'd been sleeping fitfully, in and out of delirium almost all day, and she was at the end of her wits. Not to mention it had started to rain the _second_ they entered Washington.

"I took a little detour," she said. "How do you feel?"

Elijah frowned. "I'll be fine," he said, waving his hand dismissively as she opened her mouth to point out that he wasn't fine _now_ and apparently wasn't getting any better. "Detour to where?"

"Portland," she said.

He turned his head to look at her.

"Portland?" he asked. "To Niklaus?"

"Yes," she said.

"But you hate him."

"He's your brother," Katherine said. She took a deep breath. "You need him right now."

Elijah gave her a long look and then nodded.

"Okay," he said, and then he drifted off to sleep again.

*****

"Jeans?" was the first word out of Klaus's mouth when he opened the door.

Elijah shot Katherine a sidelong glare. "You said no one would know," he said with a plaintive tone.

"Oh, hush," Katherine said. Her stomach twisted in fear as she met Klaus's eyes, but she kept her gaze even. "We need your help."

Just then, a coughing fit shook Elijah's body, throwing Katherine off balance a little as she tried to keep him upright. Klaus's face grew stony as he became aware of Elijah's condition.

"What happened?" he asked, holding out his arms.

Katherine hesitated, not wanting to hand Elijah over, but then she let Klaus take him.

"Werewolf bite," she said, following him into a sunken living room as he laid Elijah on the couch. Stefan got to his feet as they entered from where he was sitting on a chair in front of the fire, a book and a pen in his hand, and she gave him a wan smile. "You have to cure him."

"I'll be fine," Elijah said with a dismissive wave. "It can't kill me."

"No, but it _has_ made you sick," Katherine said, her voice rising in frustration. "There's no need for you to suffer." She turned to Klaus. "Talk some sense into him."

"Right." Klaus bit into his wrist and held it out towards Elijah, who made a face and turned his head away.

"Ew," he said. "I'm not drinking your blood. I said I'll be fine"

Klaus rolled his eyes. "Now is not the time, 'lijah," he said. He glanced at Stefan and nodded towards the bar and Stefan fetched him a shot glass. Klaus held his wrist over the glass, just managing to fill it before the wound on his wrist healed. He held the glass out to Elijah, who shook his head.

"Consider it medicine," Klaus cajoled. He made a buzzing noise as he moved the glass towards Elijah's mouth. "Now open the hanger, here comes the aeroplane…"

"Oh, for fuck's—gimme that!" With a sudden burst of energy, Elijah snatched the shot glass out of Klaus's hand and tossed back the blood. He handed it back to Klaus, who set it on the coffee table next to a sketch pad and a glass of whiskey.

Klaus mustered him, his face thoughtful.

"You're wearing jeans," he said finally, raising a brow. "You really _are_ sick."

"Dog ate m'other pants," Elijah said. He tried to push himself into a sitting position and then fell back against the cushions of the sofa.

"Steady," Klaus said, putting his hand on Elijah's shoulder, pulling it away as Elijah grimaced in pain. He looked up at Katherine. "He needs to rest. You're welcome to stay here."

She narrowed her eyes as she returned his look, but he seemed sincere. She glanced over at Stefan and he nodded.

"All right," she said. "I think I've had my fill of motels at the moment, to be honest."

"Well, that's settled then," Klaus said. "C'mon, big brother, let's get you to bed."

Ignoring Elijah's indignant protests, Klaus hoisted his brother into his arms and headed out of the room, Katherine and Stefan following close behind.

"'Blue Jean'," Klaus sang as he carried Elijah down the hall. "'I just met me a girl named Blue Jean—'"

"Shut _up_!" 

When he reached the guest room, Klaus waited as Katherine pulled down the covers and arranged the pillows and then he laid Elijah on the bed and tugged off Elijah's shoes before grabbing the comforter and pulling it over him.

"Stop it!" Elijah snapped, slapping at Klaus's fingers. "You're worse than Rebekah."

"Well, someone's cranky," Klaus said. "We'll leave you now." He turned to Katherine, the humor in his eyes suddenly replaced with suspicion. "We have another guest room—"

"No," Elijah said quickly. "She's staying here with me. And the dog, too." He fixed Stefan with a glare. "And Charlemagne is _not_ a snack."

At the sound of his name, Charlemagne rushed to the bed and started wagging his tail and barking. Katherine bent down and picked him up, placing him on the bed next to Elijah.

"We're fine," she said to Klaus. "Good night. And… thanks."

Klaus stared at her for a long moment and then he nodded. 

"You're welcome," he said. "Good night."

"Help me with my jeans," Elijah said, once Klaus was gone. "I think I'm stuck in them."

"You are not," Katherine said with a laugh as she helped him pull down his pants. She tossed them on the floor of the bathroom and then returned to the bedroom, pulling off her jacket and then her own jeans before crawling into bed with him.

"You know, when you came out of the bathroom at the motel," he said, turning to look at her, "I was expecting you to be wearing a sexy negligée."

"I wasn't expecting to have to seduce anyone on this trip, least of all you."

"You'd be surprised at how seductive a t-shirt can be."

"Are you saying you think I'm hot?"

"I'm delirious, remember?"

Katherine poked his side and he groaned.

"All right," he said. "Not a word I would generally use, but yes. Hot. Steaming even."

Katherine grinned and leaned forward, intent on kissing Elijah, when Charlemagne scooted up and plopped his head between their pillows with a whistling sigh of content.

"I think he wants to protect our chastity," Elijah said with a laugh. 

"Well, he's doing a good job of it," Katherine said. "Good night, Elijah. Good night, Charlie." She leaned down and pressed a kiss to Charlemagne's nose and then lay back. She was just drifting off to sleep when she heard Elijah mutter, "His name's Charlemagne, not Charlie..."

*****

Elijah was still asleep when she woke up the next morning, breathing deeply and evenly with a healthy color in his face. She dressed quickly and headed out to the car to get some fresh clothes and toiletries, as well as a couple of blood bags out of the cooler in the back of the car, and then she headed back to their room.

As Katherine neared the door, she saw that it was open a crack and she could hear Klaus and Elijah talking. She stood still and held her breath, concentrating on their voices through the crack in the door. Elijah said something in that language he'd been speaking earlier, when he was delirious, and Klaus snorted a laugh.

"Are you sure about this?" Klaus asked, switching to English. His tone was nagging, but Katherine was surprised to detect a note of concern.

"Positive," Elijah said firmly, exasperation evident in his voice, like they'd already had this conversation several times before with similar results. "Now drop it, please, I don't wish to discuss this right now. Not here, when she…"

"All right," Klaus said petulantly. "But, for the record, I still think you're barmy."

"Hey."

Katherine started and whirled around, her eyes widening when she saw Stefan standing behind her.

"Oh, uh, hey," she said, hoping that Stefan hadn't noticed that she was eavesdropping. 

She moved away from the bedroom door, and he motioned for her to follow. They headed down the hall and into the large living room. When they reached the double French doors of the terrace, he held them open for her and then followed her into a well-cultivated garden. The rain had stopped, for the moment, but patches of mist floated about and the air held a bone-penetrating cold.

"So, you and Klaus," she said, leaning against an arch that doubled as a rose trellis. She raised a brow.

"So, you and Elijah," he countered.

She frowned at his words. "I don't know if I'd say there's an 'us'," she said. _Yet_. "It's… complicated."

"It always is," Stefan said. "Do you love him?"

 _Yes_. "I don't know," she said with a shrug. "Maybe. I guess we'll see what happens." She frowned. "He saved me from the werewolves."

Stefan nodded.

"He's a good guy. You could probably do worse. Elena always liked him, so he can't be that bad."

Katherine resisted the urge to make a sarcastic comment about Elena's abilities to read people, but bit it back. When it came to Elijah, Katherine happened to agree with Elena's assessment, she realized. 

"I have five centuries of doing worse behind me," she said. "Present company excepted."

Stefan grinned.

"And Damon?" he asked. "Not him, right?"

Katherine snorted. "It's never going to stop, this sibling rivalry, is it?"

"Nope," Stefan said. "Thank God he isn't gay. Though Klaus can't stand him anyway."

Katherine laughed and then started as she heard someone clear his throat behind them. She whirled around to find Klaus watching them, his eyes wary and guarded as he gazed at her. 

"Our guest is clamoring for some breakfast, Stefan," he said. "Why don't you go oblige him while I… entertain Katherine?"

"Sure," Stefan said, giving Klaus a warning look as he passed by him and entered the house.

Katherine turned to face Klaus, her stomach churning as she tried not to show her fear. He wouldn't dare hurt her with Elijah right there with them in the house, right?

"So, Katherine…"

"Klaus." She gave him a wary look.

"Stefan says I have to be nice to you," he said, "and give you my blessing." He held up his hand when she rolled her eyes. "And I do. But know this—if you ever hurt my brother, I'll hunt you down and, when I'm done with you, you'll be begging me to kill you."

 _You’d have to catch me first_ , she thought, but she wisely kept her mouth shut. 

"Firstly," she said, raising a brow. "I'll tell you what I told Stefan—I have no idea _where_ this is going—if anywhere. And secondly…" She hesitated for a moment and then held out her hand. "I don't intend to hurt him. Okay?"

Klaus stared at her at narrowed eyes for a moment and then reached out and took her hand.

"Fair enough," he said, squeezing it just a little too hard. "For the moment."

**XII.**

Katherine somehow managed to survive until they left a few days later. It obviously cost him some effort, but Klaus was polite to her, even pleasant if Stefan or Elijah were around, and Katherine stayed out of his way for the most part, occupying herself with cleaning the car of what she imagined to be "werewolf smell" and spoiling Charlemagne, who seemed to have no recollection that he'd almost died a few days before. The only thing that bothered her was that she and Elijah never seemed to find a chance to be alone to continue what they'd started the night before everything went to hell. When Klaus and Stefan weren't there, Charlemagne was, and Elijah refused to let the dog out of their sight with Stefan's past track record with animals. Katherine had a feeling that Elijah thought _that_ was worse than Stefan's days as a ripper-slash-serial killer.

At long last, Elijah was well enough to leave Klaus's almost suffocating care, and they drove up to Seattle, arriving by late morning. Before they went to the docks to see about getting transit to the island, however, Elijah insisted that it was time for them to go clothes shopping. She was sorry to see the jeans and Henley shirts go, but she had to admit that she was looking forward to the suits again, especially the way they looked on Elijah. 

In addition, Elijah thought she would need some evening clothes when they went to see Edwards. 

"What, are you planning to entertain him to death?" she asked incredulously. 

Elijah let out a put-upon sigh. "You sound like Niklaus."

"Well…" Katherine said. "I think he'd have a point in this case."

When Elijah deemed they were ready, they left for the docks. Edwards' island was located somewhere in Puget Sound, and Elijah had hired a boat to take them there. Once they arrived, some men took their luggage and headed up to the house, while Katherine hung back. She put her hand on Elijah's sleeve, stopping him as he started to follow the men.

"Wait," she said. "Time for the truth." When he merely raised his brow, she rolled her eyes and continued. "You're Mitchell Edwards, aren't you. Come on, the same initials? It was a no-brainer. I'm sort of an awesome detective, remember?"

Elijah laughed and looked away, his tongue darting out to moisten his lips. "If you knew, why did you come along?" he asked, looking up at her again, his eyes earnest and, if she wasn't mistaken, hopeful. 

Katherine shrugged. "I was curious, I guess," she said. "Why _did_ you lure me here?"

Elijah suddenly looked very uncomfortable.

"Can't you guess?" he asked.

Katherine gazed at him for a long moment. She knew what she _wanted_ his reason to be, but she'd been burned so often in the past that she wasn't sure she could bear it if she was wrong this time.

"You tell me," she said cautiously.

Elijah returned her gaze for a long moment, his eyes filled with uncertainty.

"Fine," he said finally. "I needed to see… if we still had a chance. After everything." 

Katherine gazed at him for a long moment and then she smiled. Her chest felt oddly tight and she was afraid she was going to burst into tears and ruin everything. 

"Yeah," she said. "I think I can give you a chance. Or at least I'll try. Charlemagne might have other plans for us."

Elijah laughed. "I'm sure we'll think of some way of convincing him," he said. He took a step forward and cupped her cheeks. "I love you."

Katherine's throat suddenly felt very tight. She'd said those words so many times over the centuries, for all the wrong reasons, but now they seemed foreign and _new_. 

She cleared her throat and met his eyes. "I love you, too." 

He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. It was chaste and pure and Katherine had to grip his elbows to keep from swooning.

"You're not leaving." It was a statement rather than a question, and Katherine couldn't resist the urge to needle him, just a little.

"Maybe," she said. "Not if you clean up your bad habits."

Elijah's eyes narrowed. "Bad habits?" he said. "Like what?"

"Like picking up strays off the streets," she said. "And you have to loosen up a bit. Stop being such a snob. And get that mahogany stick out of your ass."

Elijah grinned as he slipped her arm around her and guided her towards the house.

*****

It turned out there really was a Mitchell Edwards—Elijah's butler. He took Charlemagne out of their hands, promising the overjoyed dog snacks and a bath as they got ready for dinner. When Katherine came out of her room, Elijah was already waiting, leaning against the banister at the top of the stairs looking so devastatingly handsome it took her breath away. When he saw her, he lost balance, catching himself just in time before he toppled down the stairs.

"You look stunning," he said, looking her up and down like he was memorizing the moment.

"So do you." Elijah held out his arm and she took it.

When they reached the dining room, Charlemagne was already seated at the table, freshly groomed, his fur all puffy and white like a perfectly coiffed halo. Edwards had also dressed him in a bow tie.

"Wow," Katherine said. "They weren't joking when they said that dogs start to look like their owners.

"I think he looks very distinguished," Elijah said, flicking open his napkin and putting it on his lap.

"Of course you do," Katherine said, giving him a sweet smile. As Elijah narrowed his eyes, she grabbed a wine glass and added quickly, "To my very distinguished boys."

Elijah looked like he was about to argue, but then Charlemagne barked, and Elijah raised his glass, defeated.

After dinner, Edwards whisked away Charlemagne again as Elijah led her upstairs. 

"Is he stealing our dog?" she asked with a frown.

Elijah chuckled. "No," he said. "I, uh, asked Edwards to keep him occupied tonight."

Katherine turned and gave Elijah a long look.

"I see," she said. "Very smooth."

"Unless you _want_ him to watch…"

"No," she said quickly. They arrived at his room and she pushed open the door, entering the room and then reaching through the doorway to grab him by the lapels and pull him into the room.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," he said, pulling her into his arms and kissing her soundly. He kicked the door closed behind him and walked her backwards towards the bed, his hand already working on opening the zipper running down the back of her dress.

"I'm dying to see what you bought at Victoria's Secret," he said.

"Well, that will have to wait," Katherine said. "Since I'm not wearing anything under this dress." 

His eyes widened and she moved away, letting the gown slide off her shoulders and down her body. Katherine shivered as his eyes raked her form and she stepped back, sprawling on the bed. 

"Come here," she said, crooking her finger at him.

She blinked and he was already naked before her. 

"What, no strip tease?" she asked.

"We have plenty of time for that," he said, crawling onto the bed until he was hovering over her, his eyes fixed intently on her as his knees nudged her legs apart. "But right now, I need you too much."

His mouth descended on hers, crushing her lips, brutally at first, but then gentling, as his hand slid down to squeeze her breast. He broke the kiss and then lowered his mouth. She gasped as he sucked her nipple into his mouth, teasing it with his tongue, and then she cried out as he sank his fangs into her tender flesh. The pain soon ceded to a pleasure that was almost too intense, and she felt her own fangs lengthening in response.

All too soon, he released her breast from the exquisite torture and then kissed and licked a path down her stomach to the apex of her thighs. He started to lick her in earnest there, sliding his fingers into her. She came almost immediately, barely cognizant of him biting into her inner thigh as she rode out the waves.

He moved up her body again, a teasing grin playing on his lips. "What was that you said about premature—"

"Shut _up_ ," Katherine said, grabbing his face and kissing him soundly, licking the taste of herself from his mouth before sinking her fangs into his lower lip, moaning as the delicious taste of his blood mixed with hers. He gasped and then thrust inside her, groaning deep in his chest as he started to move.

She broke the kiss and fell back, watching his face, the veins darkening his eyes and his fangs extended, blood smeared across his lips and dripping from his mouth. From something she'd overheard Klaus say during their visit, she knew Elijah very rarely showed his true face, even when feeding. That he would show it to her made her chest ache.

"I love you," she whispered and then she surged up, sinking her fangs into his shoulder.

Elijah let out a harsh cry and then he thrust into her one last time, going rigid as his whole body shuddered in orgasm. Once he was spent, he collapsed on top of her, his mouth seeking out hers once more.

After a few moments, he rolled off her, but not away, pulling her into his arms. She pressed her face against his chest, running her fingers through the sparse hair.

"Oh. My. God."

She looked up to find Elijah gazing towards the foot of the bed, his eyes wide in shock. Katherine pushed herself up on her elbows and followed his line of vision, gasping in surprise. Charlemagne was sitting on the foot of the bed, his tongue lolling out of his mouth like he was laughing at them.

"How does he _do_ that?" she asked. Charlemagne took the sudden attention to mean that his presence was wanted and so he made his way up the bed until he was lying between them like a giant sausage-shaped purity ring.

"I have no idea," Elijah said, shaking his head. He rolled onto his side until he was facing her and took her hand, pressing his lips to it. "Good night, my love."

Katherine shivered slightly as he called her 'his love.' 

"Good night," she whispered, her eyes already falling closed as she slipped into a deep, contented sleep.

*****

The next morning they got up before sunup and went down to the beach to watch it rise, walking arm and arm on the sand as Charlemagne ran circles around them before getting bored and racing to chase the waves washing up on the shore. Within no time, his short, stubby legs got stuck in the sand and Katherine rescued him, returning to Elijah with a laugh, wet and bedraggled, covered in sand from the equally damp and filthy dog.

"What am I going to do with you?" Elijah asked, tugging her into his arms as she came into reach.

Katherine's heart started to pound Elijah leaned down, his intent obvious, and his eyes fell closed. All of a sudden, Charlemagne poked up his head between them and slobbered all over Elijah's face. Elijah jumped back, grimacing in disgust as Katherine started to snicker. He glared at her as he removed his handkerchief from his pocket and shook it out.

"So you think that's funny," he said. Too breathless from laughing, all Katherine could do was nod. Elijah grinned then and took a step forward. "Well, fine. I'm still going to kiss you."

"No!" Katherine shrieked. Hugging Charlemagne to her chest, she whirled around and took off running to the house, Elijah hot on her heels.

_Finis_


End file.
